Super Paper Phred
by Author XIV
Summary: When Ray and his friends and family pop in "Super Paper Mario" to play, he and three others are sucked in and tolled with saving the fictional worlds within the game AND the real world! Safely rated T for some testy language.
1. Introduction

_**FINALLY! I COULDN'T STAND THE WAIT ANY LONGER...**_

**So, before the actual story, let's get on with all the legalities and such:**

**1) There is no possible way in the Milky Way that I could even be considered to come and own the respectable Nintendo corporation who owns all the rights to the plot summary of this fantastic game and - dare I say - this fanfic. They also own the NPC such as Dimentio and Blumiere and Nassy and the such.**

**2) I OWN THE OCs IN THIS! They are mine, and mine alone are they! These characters are copyrighted by me, trademarked by me, and restricted by me. And if you see these characters in the future (near of far, hopefully near...), then I probably wrote that book so don't accuse the author of stealing what is mine, because it is also the author's since that author will be me! And don't accuse me of stealing these characters way before the release date of said future book, for (again) I did not steal these characters. I think I've made the point clear that: characters=me=book-to-come.**

**So the way that this works is that every week, I'll update this story (with occasional early chappies thrown into the mix). Easy. And all you have to do is read and leave positive criticism (if you wish). Again, easy. I have enough chapters to last at least/most thirty-one-ish weeks, so these updates will remain strict.**

**This story is not for the feint of heart- that is, people who haven't played the game yet. This story _will_ have tips, tricks, spoilers, real life experiences (I play as I write), and bloopers. For those select blasphemous few, I recommend that you favorite this for now, play the game, come back AFTER you beat it via browsing your favorites list, favorite alert if you love, and then continue on with your life.**

**So, after about 43 hours of game play - give or take a few - I give you: SUPER PAPER PHRED!!!**

* * *

**Ahem! Today...**

**I'll tell you the story of  
the lost book of prophecies.**

**This prophetic book was  
a mysterious tome full of  
stories of future events.**

**Of course, many people  
craved this book, wishing to  
glimpse their futures.**

**But no person, after  
obtaining this amazing book  
ever found happiness.**

**The reason? The book  
held frightful secrets not  
meant for people's eyes.**

**That book came to be  
called the Dark Prognosticus  
and was sealed away.**

**This… is the tale of that  
forgotten book's last owner.**

**This is a tale of love…**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Ooh… Oooooh… What happened to me… what is this place?"

"Bleh heh heh heh heh heh… Oh, you're awake Rachel!"

"Wait, what?" the girl addressed as Rachel asked. She opened her eyes slowly, as to not get a headache, to find that a creepy, blue man in a multicolored cape staring at her. He also wore a white top hat and a monocle. Across from her, behind a sort of fountain, stood her brother.

"…RAY?"

"Don't ask. I'm as confused as you are." Rachel nodded and turned her head back to the count.

"What is going on here?" Before the count could even want to answer, a blue woman with bubble-gum pink hair, red glasses, and a secretarial demeanor flipped into the gazebo from nowhere.

"Count! Yeah, um, 'K, so preparations are complete…" she informed, gaining his attention.

"Mmm… Then it shall be begun… by Count Bleck!" He turned back to the one named Ray.

"Raymond, emotional savior of Elm and Et… do you take Rachel to be your lawfully wedded wife 'ti-"

"Are you kidding? NO! She's my sister! I don't want my children to have webbed digits!" The secretary didn't like his tone of voice; she took action. She lowered her glasses, which triggered a bright light. After it subsided, two sets of red lines formed squares around him and started spinning around. All of this caused Ray to loose his balance and fall to the floor.

"Ray! What are you doing to him?!"

"Yeah, um, being rude to the esteemed count is sort of frowned on, 'K? So yeah." She told Rachel.

"But what are you _doing_ to him?" The blue woman ignored the question and asked Ray what the count asked him.

"Uhn… Nuh… No… I don't believe in incest…" Both the count and the blue woman wore faces of shock after that resistance. Rachel smiled and sighed in relief.

"Gee," the count's right-hand woman started, "You sure are a fighter. But yeah, no one withstands my super-hypnosis, sorry." She then hit Ray with another wave of red lines; that added two more squares. "'I do.' Say it now, 'K?"

"Oooh… Ooooh oh… ……I…I…do……" The count cackled.

"Bleh heh heh heh heh heh! Was it really that hard? …Count Bleck directed to the fallen teenager." He said. "Now it's your turn, Rachel. Do you, Rachel, take Raymond to be your lawfully wedded husband 'til your games be over?"

"…Will that woman behind me do what she did to Ray to me if I refuse?" she asked, taking a glance back at the floating woman.

"Yes."

"Then I… uneasily do." The ground rumbled as she said those words. The fountain started glowing black… BLACK? "What's going on? What did I do?" Rachel asked. No one answered and the ground only shook harder. Heart-shaped ripples penetrated the air from where the fountain stood.

**~*-SPP-*~**

A girl lay on the white, marble floor practically unconscious. Nevertheless, she woke up to an unfamiliar atmosphere.

"What in the world…? What am I doing here?" She looked up. Dozens of stairs away, she spotted her best friend and boyfriend. "Wait, is that Rachel with… RAY?" The girl of African-American descent dashed to the stairs to save her friends.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The ground had to have been still for about ten seconds before the fountain produced a black heart. The count raised his arms up in a victorious pose, revealing the underside of his cloak.

"Bleh heh heh heh heh heh! BLECK! Yes, all precisely as written in the Dark Prognosticus! Already it is unleashed! _THE CHAOS HEART!!!_"

"Oh, yeah, um, congratulations, Count…" The count silently thanked his secretary.

"STOP!" a voice not previously used in the wedding scene called out. Yet one of the surprised (and conscious) people answered the plea.

"IEDA? What're you- never mind that, help!" Rachel yelled. The count turned to the blue woman and asked her a question.

"Who is she? …Asked Count Bleck."

"According to Rachel, Ieda. I think that-"

"Stop mumbling and give me my friends back!" She jumped to heroically interfere with the events, but instead tripped over Ray, knocked over the fountain, defied gravity and jumped on the Chaos Heart and landed next to Rachel somewhat gracefully.

"Rachel, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I thi- wait, what's going on _now_?"

"It's the Heart! It's going berserk! Count, take cover!" It was too late. The Chaos Heart already unleashed a light of destructive nature. Everything was gone.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Well, not everything. The Chaos Heart and the greenish-blue background remained. Some amount of time later, the count flipped into view, accompanied with a black, decorated book and his blue assistant.

"Um, yeah, so are you all right, Count?"

"Fools… Pointless acts like these will earn you only pain… from Count Bleck! Very well. As the Chaos Heart is secured, those worthless Heroes are of no use now."

"Um, so, yeah, Count… This means you may turn to a new page of dark prophecies…" At that, the Count raised his hands up as if to command the Heart.

"_Open your mouth, darkness! Consume everything and destroy all worlds, as told in the prophecy! BLECK!_" The Chaos Heart understood and released that same destructive light, only this time it was aimed at every world in the Super Paper Mario game.

…Speaking of Mario, where was his original character portrayal? Well, let's start from even before all of these events: before the teenage Heroes were sucked up into the game…

* * *

**So satisfied with this. This is the only chapter I used the internet for... anyway, I'm posting the next chapter after this one so you don't go away unhappy. It should take only a few minutes.**


	2. Before the Wedding

**And now I present to you part two of the early prologue chapters! The only chapter in the story where everyone is relaxed and at ease with the world. That's soon to be tested...**  


* * *

It was just another sunny day in Sothern California. No clouds, sun penetrating through the windows, the mailman slamming the mailboxes closed a story below, dogs barking at the mailman, and random babble from the downstairs television. Ray looked outside his window to find most of those sights; the way the sun reflected off of the gutter water replaced the babble of the television.

He hated all of it.

Not in the usual hating manner. No, a much deeper, depressing, strong dislike manner of hating. Ever since the events of Spring Break, Ray felt even more sad (no thanks to Phred's saving him… well, at least no thanks to Phred) and the summer didn't help thanks to nothing to do. In fact, he _wanted_ something interesting to happen, whether it be aliens or meeting his father for the first time again.

Knock knock.

In a startled move, Ray slammed his shutter closed and twisted his head to the closed door on the other side of the room. Breathing in and out in a pattern to calm, he collected himself and walked over to the door. Rachel stood there, eager and anticipating.

"Now what? Come to ask me for my summer reading reviews again? The answer's no seeing as you lost the last one."

"No silly! Emiloy's got a surprise for us! …wait, I lost you summer reading reviews?" Rachel asked.

"That's why I don't have them and I've been working all weekend to rewrite them."

"Well then _I_ have a surprise for you too! But you gotta wait until after mom's!" Before Ray could make a sound, Rachel jumped every other step downstairs. Ray followed, dragging his feet. He noticed their Wii sitting on the coffee table, a bunch of new games for the game console, and Phred, Ieda, and Emiloy all waiting for him down in the foyer.

"This better not be a repeat of our birthday." This weakened the mood of everyone. "Well, what's the surprise? Everyone was chipper until I appeared." Ray stomped down quickly.

"Well?"

"It's the games, Ray!" Emiloy shouted happily. Immediately, Ray headed back upstairs; Ieda grabbed his ear.

"Ahh! Fine, fine, fine! Ieda, I love you, but let go of my ear! Ow!"

"Only if," Rachel started, "you stay for at least ten minutes just to make sure you actually don't like the gift."

"ANYTHING! Just let go of me!!!" His ear turned redder than the hat on the cover of the top game. Phred nodded for Ieda to let go; she did and Ray fell flat on the floor. All six feet three inches of him.

"I'll go make the popcorn!" Emiloy offered. "You kids just pick which game you wanna start with!" She exited (jumping over Ray as he was about to get up) to the kitchen.

"So? What should we play first?" Rachel asked. Ieda suggested _Super Mario Galaxy_, but everyone argued that it was only a one-player game. Rachel suggested a Zelda but the popping of corn in the kitchen muffled it. Phred, in a surprising twist, wanted to know what Ray wanted; start from the top and go from there. On the top lay _Super Paper Mario_, another one player game (which contradicted their earlier opinions). Phred hesitantly put the game in, pressed start and were greeted by the warning screen.

The ground started to shake.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"How should we know?!"

"Ray, I think you should rethink this!"

"Where's the popcorn?!" Everyone stared at Rachel. "What?" Before anyone could answer, out of the console appeared a tall, blue man with a monocle, white top hat, a cape that turned from white to a rosy red to a deep blue, and a staff with a diamond shaped sapphire decoration. He lifted his head to reveal his zigzag mouth and pulsing red eyes.

"Ieda, Ray, Rachel, Phred. I've been waiting for you four!"

"You're from a game! What makes us special?" Ray inquired.

"Count Bleck has a message for the one called Ray. 'Ready for another adventure?' That's all He said."

"…I'm really getting annoyed by this person who thinks he can practically write my life…"

"Bleh heh heh heh heh heh! BLECK!" Count Bleck waved his staff in the air and cast a sort of purple black hole, which sucked the four adolescents into the very game itself.

"Count Bleck has all he needs for the preparation of the destruction of the worlds! I think I should return to Nastasia at the chapel." A box formed around him and he flipped out back into the game. The microwave chimed the end of the popping and Emiloy, after emptying the warm bag of its buttery goodness and putting it in a Christmas bowl, walked out of the kitchen with the popcorn.

"Who want popcorn?" Emiloy, completely oblivious to everything that just happened, asked to nothing. "Ray? Rachel? Kids?" She looked around the room only to find them on the T.V. screen where Ray gets hypnotized to marry his sister.

"Oh, for a moment I thought you were… wait, if you're not in here, but in the game, then you're… in the game?" The Chaos Heart was on the screen by the time she figured that. The title screen came on when she realized to sit down and watch Phred, who replaced Mario on the title screen, proceed to the file selection and type a name for the file.

"'HELPUS!'? Well, that's not a good name. It needs something more… I know!" she added a heart at the end.

* * *

**If you couldn't tell, Emiloy is the dumb blonde.**

**It would spoil the effect of meeting the characters if I explained them all right now, and I don't want that. I'm really looking forward to Saturday... :)**


	3. A Prolonged Prologue

"………………………….red……………..Phred………" Phred lay on cold cement in an unknown castle. The sky was a shade of pink, rugged mountains could be seen out of the windows, statues bearing the face of a dragon-turtle hybrid, and a strange rainbow colored butterfly floated in front of him. Phred stood.

"Oh, good. You're awake."

"A talking butterfly? Wow, this is corny."

"Well, get used to it… My name is Tippi… I am what is known as a Pixl… A sort of fairy…"

"How do you do?" Phred, remembering his manners, asked politely.

"If you're trying to make up for that 'corny' remark, it won't work… Anyway, Phred, I came to find you…"

"Oh, you _did_, did you? You'll never take me alive!" His casual stance morphed into a defensive one. Tippi assured she was no enemy. Phred calmed somewhat.

"You met Count Bleck…and he captured your girlfriend and her brother… Is that not so?" Upon hearing this, he loosened his stance and answered calmly and confused.

"…yeah, it is. What're you, psychic?" She ignored the question and went on about her business of informing.

"Then that means Count Bleck is even now beginning to form The Void… We haven't much time… You must come with me…"

"Why should I trust a butterfly? A rainbow-y one at that."

"Your call if you don't want to save your friends…"

"Well, when you put it that way… alright." Tippi rejoiced. When she finished, she drew a box around Phred.

"Hey… what're you-"

"Let us go…" She then flipped Phred out, and then her. No one would see Bowser's Castle ever again in the game. The camera zoomed out and faded.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Phred and Tippi flipped into view at the top of a white tower. They (more Phred than Tippi) didn't have much time to gather their surroundings, for a man with a long white mustache and clothing of an important blue stood close to the pair.

"Oh, ho! Well, well, well… Back so soon, Tippi? And who might this be? Black sweatpants, green jacket… and blond, spiky hair that looks as if it came out of an anime! Tippi, you have truly outdone yourself…"

"He matches the description of the Hero in the Light Prognosticus perfectly… And his name is Phred." With both strangers making him feel really important, Phred blushed.

"I welcome you, Phred! This is the town of Flipside. You have come far from – where was it now? Oh yes, California – California of your fair dimension… Of course, our fair Flipside is in _no_ dimension at all! No! It is BETWEEN dimensions!" Phred looked at Tippi, not believing anything the old man was saying. To his regret, she said he was right.

"How rude of me, I haven't even introduced myself! My name? Merlon! I am a descendant of the Ancients who created this town. I busy myself studying musty ancient texts to forestall the end of all worlds! And by that I'm including your California and anywhere else." Gasp!

"Erm, you wouldn't mind telling me anything useful, would you? Say, how everything is happening, for instance?"

"Ahh… You want to know about the end of all worlds?"

"It's a start."

"Wait, Tippi did not inform you of anything?"

"She threatened me with the danger of my friends! That's all we had time for!" Merlon scolded the butterfly… yet he couldn't resist saying sorry.

"Well, in any case, the answer to the end of all worlds is above you." Phred looked upwards. "No, not _directly_ above you! 'In the sky ways away' above you… Oh, for goodness' sake, just look to your left." After Phred finally looked the correct direction, he saw it. The same purple-y black hole the count conjured up to take all four of them into the game.

"Do you see the gathering darkness in the sky?" Merlon asked.

"Pretty hard to miss…" Phred mumbled.

"It is a hole in the very dimensional fabric of space! Such a strange phenomenon… Is it near or far? None know. It may appear small now, but it can only grow. And in the end, it will swallow all existence… All worlds. All dimensions. And I repeat, even your California and other such places."

"Merlon… Let's not dwell on the frivolous details, we need to tell him about the enemy…"

"Quite right, Tippi. Our enemy, Count Bleck, created this Void. He wields the Dark Prognosticus."

"'A girl with hair of white and light blue… An emotional and cut up brother…The union of these two will call forth the Chaos Heart, the consumer of all worlds… And the Chaos Heart will ravage the sky, and so bring forth The Void.'"

"Yes… The passage Tippi just quoted is from the Light Prognosticus of my ancestors. The book also says this: 'The Void will swallow all-'"

"Well that isn't happy."

"Let me finish… 'Naught can stop it-'"

"Again, that isn't very happy."

"Will you let me finish?! '…unless the one protected by the dark power is destroyed. The Hero with the power of eight Pure Hearts will rise to this task.' Now I'm done. Actually… now where did I put that…" He reached into his blue coat and searched for something he deemed valuable. "No, that's not it. Ah-ha!" Merlon pulled out a glowing red heart. "This is one of the eight Pure Hearts. You are surely the Hero spoken of in the pages of the Light Prognosticus. You are the only one who can defeat Count Bleck and save everything! Phred-"

"FINE! If you'll just stop talking I'll take it and save everything!"

"Excell- Hey! …Well, I can't get angry with the Hero of Prophecy. So…" he cleared his throat, "Phred, our brave Hero! Take _THIS!!!_" Merlon then threw Phred the Pure Heart.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**THE PURE HEART HAS BEEN THRUST INTO YOUR POSSESSION!!!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Now, great Hero Phred…"

"What did I _just_ say about talking?"

"If I can't talk, how will you know what to do?"

"He has a point, Phred…"

"You keep out of this! …fine. You can talk, but you better not make me seem more important than I already am. All I'm asking is that you cut the 'great Hero' stuff."

"Understood. Anyway, your first task awaits. You must take this Pure Heart… and place it in the Heart Pillar in this town. I'm sure Tippi will be delighted to show you where it is."

"…Yes. This way…" Phred followed until he saw Tippi by a flashing red arrow.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Press it, please… and don't curse!"

"Okay, geez. No need to get angry…" Phred pressed the button and, out from the ground, lines came up and connected, then went down forming a third line. White flew in from either side of the two rectangles and when that was finished, the interior of an elevator happened to lie behind the doors. Phred cautiously stepped in; Tippi casually glided.

Once on the ground floor, and off the elevator, Tippi directed Phred.

"This way, please… Come along…" Phred followed her up to the next arrow, only this one pointed up.

"Press it…" she commanded. Another elevator came up, they entered, and then up they went.

"The Heart Pillar is this way… Come on, please…"

"Who are you, Penelope Taynt?" Phred lead the way this time to the other side of the screen. Phred tried jumping in this screen, but it wasn't long till he fell flat on his face. Luckily, he recovered and walked the rest of the two feet to the Heart Pillar.

A marble pillar with red discoloring and designs at the bottom stood proud, empty.

"This is a Heart Pillar… Now get close and place the Pure Heart…"

"If something bad happens, I blame you." Phred walked over and touched the pillar. He flew back.

The air started to pulse. The Pure Heart floated out of his jacket and flew upward, then flew down into the heart indent of the pillar. Designs of red filled the screen, they turned and turned and turned, just as a key turns the tumblers inside a lock.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The first section of tower came in for a close up. Two lines started to form the outline of a door. When they finished, intricate red designs filled the blank space of the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Well done… Now, let's return to Merlon…" Phred nodded, still astounded at the mystic power of the object. He jumped all the way back to the tower's entrance. Only, he didn't make it all the way; Tippi interrupted.

"Perhaps you should strike this block before we head back to Merlon…"

"Screw that! We don't have time for it!"

"I suppose you're right…" The two entered the elevator and met Merlon upon exiting.

"Ah, the two of you return! Look! A door has appeared!"

"Really?… Would have _never_ guessed it was an ordinary door." Phred said with heavy sarcasm.

"Good, because it isn't! It's a 'dimensional door' that will take you to the next Pure Heart. In fact, I'm sure behind this door lies one of the seven other Pure Hearts…Tippi. You must use your power to help Mario find this Pure Heart and return here."

"Of course…"

"And Phred… I have something to give you that will aid you on your journey." Merlon fished for another item lost in his cloak and mustache. Later, he pulled out a stripe-y pipe and, again, threw it to Phred.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**You got a Return Pipe!  
A magical pipe that returns you to Flipside from afar.**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"With this, you will be able to return to Flipside from anywhere in the universe! Use it whenever you feel you must return in a hurry."

"And _how_ is that supposed to help me?" Tippi pinched the back of his head. "Ow!"

"Oh, by the way, the Light Prognosticus foretells that the Hero will meet a 'dimension governor'. And from him, the Hero will learn the dimensional technique… I am almost certain that this refers to my friend, the Flip Wizard, Bestovius. So go now through this door, and seek out Bestovius!"

"Ok, but answer me this… why is everything so far red?"

"Doesn't matter, Merlon. Well, let's get going…"

"Now wait a minute! I'm the Hero, I get to call the shots around here, and I- hey! Get back here!" Tippi had already proceeded through the door, which forced Phred to follow.

**~*-SPP-*~**

_**SOMEWHERE IN CASTLE BLECK…**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"BLEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK! The Void has been ripped in the dimensional fabric! Yes, Count Bleck is pleased. All has gone as foretold in the Dark Prognosticus. Now it's just a matter of time until all worlds meet their demise! Bleck!" The camera then repositioned itself to center a burly man with the first in Nintendo history: a beard.

"Wow, that's just super, Count! Yeah, first you'll erase all these naughty worlds and then you're gonna build a perfect world without war and all that other icky stuff!" The voice, however, did not match the manliness of the body. It sounded too girly. The camera moved down to center a jester clothed in yellow, purple, black, and a hint of blue. He wore a mask made of two colors: black and pale rose (A/N: that's the colored pencil name…). His yellow eye pierced through the black side; his black eye pieced through the pale rose side.

"Yes, yes, no one likes the icky stuff… Yesss… A perfect world… sounds magical…" the jester said the next thing in a sing-song voice, "Ah ha ha. I can hardly stand the wait."

"SORRY I'M LATE!" a gruff voice from off-screen announced. The same burly man flew down onto his pedestal. Questioningly, he turned around to look at himself.

"What in blazin' bog rats…? How'd I beat meself 'ere?! What's goin' on?!"

"Mimimimimimimimmimimimimimi! Oh, O'Chunks, you big silly! Didja oversleep or something?" The feminine voice answered for the burly man – O'Chunks. Purple smoke then came up and she must have transformed while veiled behind it, for a perfect replica of Count Bleck stood in place of the O'Chunks copy.

"I guess it's kinda hard to be on time, though, when you've got muscle instead of brains!" This enraged O'Chunks.

"'EY! Yeh can't fool me wit' that crazy shape-shiftin' hooliganry! It's Mimi, innit?! Show a little respect fer the count! Yeh can't go a'borrowin' 'is face, lass!" This time, Count Bleck defended Mimi.

"Bleh heh heh heh heh heh… How delightful, Mimi. Almost as dapper…as Count Bleck!"

Mimi changed into Rachel then. "Aw, golly, thanks, Count! With you around, it's nothing but big smiles all the time! Hanging out with the count! That's MY idea of a perfect world!" She added a heart at the end of her sentence.

"And here I thought Mimi's ideal world was a gem-filled pool with hunky lifeguards…" Emotions took over Mimi's shape-shifting too much that she changed into Ray.

"HEY! DIMENTIO! HAVE YOU BEEN READING MY DIARY?! I MEAN… umm… never mind."

"Bleh heh heh heh heh heh… Well, different strokes for different minions…" Everyone refocused on the count. "After these rotten worlds are ended, Count Bleck will make all your dreams come true! But for that to happen, we must follow the instructions of the Dark Prognosticus."

"Yeah, about that, just an FYI? I've got an urgent memo for your inbox…" the blue secretary started, "Apparently there's been some unapproved interdimensional activity lately. Yeah… I'm thinking it's the Hero of Prophecy. That Phred guy. We're gonna need an action plan for him."

"_A dimensional interloper! And possibly the Hero?! You are sure of it, Nastasia?_ Interesting, mused Count Bleck. We must put an end to this nuisance…" The count was about to play eenie-meenie-miney-moe for which minion would pursue the Hero, but O'Chunks blurted out the count's name and begged to defeat Phred.

"Very well, O'Chunks. I'll leave the Hero-chunking to you. Do not fail Count Bleck." O'Chunks assured the count that he wouldn't. He even invited Mimi and Dimentio to witness a first class chunking. After that, he jumped down and headed for the first world.

"Mmm… I do enjoy a good chunking… Well, then… I believe I'll head out as well." Dimentio disappeared. The count cackled in delight.

"So, Hero… You would defy Count Bleck? Then hurry, for your world's end draws near… and I mean your _personal_ world, too! BLEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK!" The camera faded.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Phred was called upon to save  
his world from obliteration…  
no small task.**

**Could he prevent Count  
Bleck from pulling off his  
sinister plot?**

**Would Phred reunite with  
Rachel, Ray, and Ieda?**

**A truly interdimensional  
adventure was about to  
begin…**

**

* * *

It's Saturday and, true to my word, I updated! As of next week, the first chapter starts! Yay for tutorial chapters... not really. But oh well, because it's still a chapter and those are good!  
**


	4. The Adventure Unfolds

Chapter 1-1: The Adventure Unfolds

A blank canvas. One lone line drew the horizon on which Phred would stand. More lines drew grass, hills, flowers, and trees. The background filled in the white. Math equations filled the sky, the hills a perfect shade of green, the trees sporting many colors, and a red door allowed our Hero to enter. They stepped out.

"I feel the Pure Heart. But it's still far from here… Merlon told us to find his friend, Bestovius to learn that dimensional technique. We'd better go find him…"

"Of course."

"Oh, one more thing… If you want to learn about anything, just use my power… I know about many things…

**~*-SPP-*~**

On the other side of the T.V. screen, Emiloy strapped the Wii Remote to her wrist and followed the on-screen instructions.

"Simply point your remote at the screen and the butterfly will focus on where you point? Seems too good to be true! Let's try it on Phred!" She did. The game froze and her remote started to hum a melody. "Now what? Oh, it says to press the A Button. Ah, here we go!"

"Point at yourself, and I will give you advice on what you need to do next… Right, the first thing we should do is find Bestovius and learn how to flip…"

"Emiloy! Don't do that when it's obvious what to do next!" Phred from the television speech bubble yelled.

"AHH!" she screamed. 'You broke the fourth wall! That really scared me... Please don't do that again unless it's absolutely necessary!"

"We have a deal."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"What is that thing?"

"It's a goomba… just jump on it's head to defeat it."

"Gotcha." Phred did so successfully and gained his first 100 exp points. A ? Block appeared and in it lay a single coin.

"Guess I need these to buy items and stuff."

"Correct…"

"What else can come out of the blocks?"

"I can't tell you… this is the first level, everything gets explained…"

"Yeah, sure. And why do you keep trailing off?"

"I… er, um… Well, I don't really remember anything about me…"

"Which is why you're fantastic at talking about everything else." As Phred finished that sentence, he hit another block and out popped a mushroom.

"Oh, it's a mushroom… you should grab these to recover Health Points (HP)…"

"_Now_ you explain stuff… ah we- OW! Will someone let me know when I'm about to walk into a giant wall?!"

"Sorry…" Tippi tried to make it up to Phred but to no avail.

"What's down the pipe? …Let me rephrase that. What do you _think_ is down the pipe?"

"Coins, treasure chests, ite- hey, where are you… ugh, serves me right…" She followed Phred into a sewer-like room with a lone treasure chest. It was open.

"All I get is something called a Shroom Shake. I hate shakes!" Tippi consoled him and they headed through the reachable pipe on the ground. They then continued on to find a house with a Save Block.

"Now would probably be a better time to hit that block… You know, to save your progress…"

"Good idea." They saved. Phred then got curious if he could jump high enough to stand on the block; he could. Next was the roof; that too. Once he accomplished his goal, he jumped around until he hit his head on a brick block. A Catch Card fell. 044.

"Oh, Catch Cards… if you collect them, you can increase the damage you deal to whoever is depicted on the card… The more you have of a specific enemy, the more damage dealt…"

"Great. Just flippin' fantastic." Phred declared annoyed.

"That reminds me, we should probably go into Bestovius' house…" They did.

Upon entering, they found nothing. No door, no Bestovius, nothing. Just a cream colored wall.

"This is _not_ an empty house… There's something in this room. I can feel it… I can help you find hidden things. Why don't you use my power to look around?"

"…I actually would have never thought of that. And I mean it this time." Tippi smiled.

"EMILOY! We need you're help!" Unfortunately, Phred was immobilized thanks to Tippi's power.

"There's a hidden door here… Let me make it visible for you…" Phred, thankful to breath again, witnessed the revealing of a door. It glittered as it appeared.

"It's a door… let's go in…"

**~*-SPP-*~**

Upon entering the newly formed door, the pair was greeted with an elongated "Hmmmmmmm?"

"What is this hooligan doing here? And how do you have the audacity to address my multicolored glory? …How did he detect my hidden door…Wait! Black sweatpants, green jacket, a red and heart-shaped necklace with gold chain, and… _that hair!_ Hah! You are garbed in the rich cloth of the Hero of Prophecy! You must be the great… HERO ..._impersonator!_" With that epic fail, Phred fell to the floor.

"What a costume! You look like you leaped out of the pages of the Prognosticus!" Phred managed to get up and explain that there could be a possibility that he really was the Hero. Tippi defended him.

"And Merlon told us to find you."

"Merlon?! Only his full-bodied mustache rivals my hairy magnificence… If Merlon thinks you are the true Hero, you probably are (I think…). Well then, as the ancient prophecy foretells, I, Bestovius, will bestow upon you the ancient secrets of Dimensional flipping. …For a nominal fee of 10,000 coins!"

"What?! You expect me to pay for a service that will ultimately save the entire universe?"

"Of course! Even the great and splendiferous Bestovius has certain…expenditures. Why should you, the Hero, get the world delivered to him on a well-garnished silver platter? You Heroes think you can get away with shaking people down for free skills! A mere 10,000 coins should be nothing for a Hero of the universe. What do you say?"

"Are you crazy?"

"Yes. But since you refuse, I will offer to take all the coins in your pocket. Do we have a deal?"

"No deal. I'm not paying to save the universe!"

"You still refuse?! …Fine. I will regrettably waive the nominal fee and teach you for free. Do you agree to this?"

"How about you forget the nominal fee and still teach me for free."

"That _is_ waiving a fee…"

"Scintillating! Let us begin!"

**Flimmidy flammidy flooom!  
Diggidy daggidy dooom!  
Zibbidy zabbidy zooom!**

**SHABOOOM!**

_**FLIPPOW!!!**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Oooh! Pretty effects!" Emiloy could not get over how awesome the lesson was.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"I, Bestovius, have granted you the ability to flip between dimensions. All you have to do is either press the A Button, say the word 'FLIP!' or think the same word. And then you'll be able to slip between the very fabric of space and flip between 2-D and 3-D! Well, what do you think? Mind blowing, isn't it?"

"Excellent!"

"Wait, I'm not finished… be aware that if you stay in 3-D for too long, you will start to take the toll and loose one HP for every 15 seconds."

"Got that, Tippi?"

"Indubitably… now let's head out back to that trapped door."

"Wait! I wanna test the flipping thing!" Tippi nodded. "Whoa, this is really sweet! You can't see that annoying old man anymore!"

"Phred, your meter!" Too late.

"What is it with me and pain today?" The pair returned to 2-D, exited the house (picking up a Fire Blast from the first room on their way) and found three ? Blocks outside the house.

"What's that weird icon that looks like me?" Naturally, Phred jumped into the Pal Pill.

"Oh, those are Pal Pills… Tiny, 8-bit versions of you will follow you around and kill any enemy they hit."

"That's great!" Little did he know that when they walked down the grassy steps, the Squiglet was back and it took an 8-bit casualty with it.

"Wait, they kill but they die too? That blows…" They arrived at the giant wall.

"FLIP!" he did and the party of nine discovered the wall was broken up into sections. Once safely inside the walls, he flipped back and entered.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The next area was fairly uneventful. Enemies, Goomba Catch Card, coins, a Happy Flower ("It's a Happy Flower… Coins will fall from the sky for a bit…"), and an impassable gap.

"Erm, what should we do? Flipping would be too obvious but it's all we got. Ready, Tippi?"

"If it gets us closer to stopping the end of the world, yes." In 3-D, they discovered the hill in the back-foreground was actually a secret path. After that, they soon found another door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Phred leveled up. His maximum HP went up by 5 thanks to a spring-y enemy.

"I can level up? Sweet! More staying alive time!" Their happiness soon ended as they came up to a tall butte and a spring pad.

"You can either flip or use the pad…" Phred chose the pad. Moments later, they encountered the same butte… only without the spring pad. When he flipped, Phred became scared.

"Use the Fire Burst from Bestovius' house… That'll finish all of them off…" Phred pulled out the can and read the instructions.

"'Shake up and down for seven seconds!' That's not so hard…" When Phred finished shaking the amount of time specified, each Squiglet found itself trapped in a box; fire exploded in each one.

"Does it have to be so loud?"

"WHAT?"

"I SAID DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO LOUD?!" They never got an answer, for they felt the need to continue going since it ended. It wasn't long until they found the next door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"What is _that_? It's so… mega!"

"It's a Mega Star… It makes you big and invincible for a short amount of time…"

"Who cares about a time limit? I want it!" He ran to go get it; the moment he touched it, he was drawn into an 8-bit giant version of himself. Wasting none of the limited time, Phred ran as fast as he could to the end of the screen. He was happy to have decimated every baddie.

"Tipps… can I call you that?" Phred asked, forgetting his original question.

"Why would you call me that?"

"It fits you. Since you always give out tips and it's easier to say."

"They're both the same… how is it easier?"

"Tippi is two syllables, Tipps is one." Tippi allowed it and then Phred remembered his question.

"What's that block thing up ahead?"

"Oh, that? It's a Star Block… Hit it from below to end a section of our adventure." Phred did so and eight stars came out, forming a circle. The stars spiraled inward and ended the chapter.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**And so Phred came to learn  
the stupendous ability of  
flipping between dimensions.**

**But there was no time to  
celebrate: Phred still had  
a Pure Heart to find.**

**The trail ahead was  
overrun with savage beasts.**

"**Follow me." Tippi said as  
she flew toward the mountain  
that loomed ahead.**

**The Pure Heart was hidden  
somewhere on the other side.**

**

* * *

**

**Tutorial chapter's done! Fun times... anyway, next week we're off to the mountains to further seek for the Pure Heart! And Pixls get introduced. Yay!**

**I don't want to sound desperate, but don't forget to leave positive criticism if you want to.**


	5. Afoot in the Foothills

_Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas! I heard that you folks enjoy early chapters so... here's one for ya!_

**~walks in~ ...SANTA? What're you... How'd you get on my laptop?!**

_Uh... I can explain, XIV._

**Forget it! OUT! And take the cookies and milk with you. ~Santa walks out~**

_...But--_

**OUT! ~Santa walks out for real this time; XIV situates himself in comfy spiny chair~ Ah, now then. I guess Santa promised you an early chapter, eh? Well I guess I can't refuse now, so here ya go.**

* * *

World 1-2: Afoot in the Foothills

"I feel that the Pure Heart is beyond this mountain…but it's still far, far away. Something tells me you'll need to use that new skill a lot."

"Got it." He agreed. Soon, Phred found himself jumping to climb a set of peaks. At the top, a strange contraption of squares and rectangles waited for them.

"Tipps, what is that?"

"It's an escalator… type… thing; I don't know, actually."

"And here, I thought you knew everything."

"I said most things!" Phred shrugged and stood in the red square. As a rectangle passed, it caught onto him and carried him over a gap and through the sky. Eventually, however, he fell to the ground.

"God, what a hard landing! My feet ache."

"And I thought the Hero was impervious to pain…"

"Well, sorry for being human!" That word, human, echoed through Tippi's head. Almost as if it were egging her on to remember something about her past life. She spaced out.

"Tipps, you okay?"

"Wha… oh, yes. I'm fine. Let's continue." Continue lasted a very short time. They found a switch… and a giant block blocking it. Phred did the expected and flipped. No surprise that he was now able to hit it.

"Look…" Phred looked up and saw that more peaks had drawn themselves to aid in the duo's climbing. They climbed the top, used the next escalator, and entered the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Phred found four ? blocks in 3-D, jumped on top of them, and contemplated the next puzzle.

"Try 3-D again, I sense that the blocks are not lined up…" Tippi was right. But in using the 3-D again, Phred received one damage.

"Thanks for nothing."

"At least I helped solve it… I'm sure you would have eventually, but-"

"Eventually?" Phred questioned, starting to get annoyed.

"Well, it wasn't immediate that you asked me to help…" Phred was so annoyed, he accidentally jumped under a brick block at the end of the first platform and out popped a ladder.

"Hmmm, maybe you _are_ alright. Sorry bout that."

"I forgive you…" The pair jumped the second platform and clung onto the ladder. Slowly, they climbed upward until they found clouds and coins. When they ran out of cloud, Phred jumped and was nearly killed by a giant Spiny Tromp. Luckily, he thought to flip and was spared.

"Good call, Phred." He continued to climb in 3-D until he started to feel exhausted due to the lack of Flip Meter left. A door stood; they entered.

**~*-SPP-*~**

No enemies, no Spiny Tromps, not clouds, no escalators, just dirt, a pipe, and a bigger impasse than in the last chapter. Phred ignored the pipe and tested to see if there was a secret path. No.

"We might have to use the pipe…" He sighed and entered, prepared for a dungeon. Instead, he found himself in the background staring at a house. Feeling unsure, Phred entered the house.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Red. Red and white. Nothing but.

"How many things in this game are red?"

"We can deal with that later… Listen…" Phred tried, but was too distracted with the redness of the room.

"What do you hear?"

"…What do _you_ hear?"

"Oh, stop it… That plea for help. It's coming from upstairs…"

"There's a second story? Ow! Stop pinching me!" Tippi didn't hear him. She was patiently waiting on the second floor.

"Flip to 3-D… I sense a person in here…" Phred did as he was commanded and, for the umpteenth time, Tippi was right. A man clad in a red shirt, blue overalls, and a spear cried on his bed for help. Phred talked to him.

"Hey! HEY! You can see me!"

"Yeah… why?"

"This is unbelievable! I've been freaking out here for days and finally someone sees me!"

"Wait, what?" Tippi asked.

"Well, a couple of days ago, I roll out the wrong side of bed and once I get my coffee, I realize I'm stuck in some freaky parallel dimension!"

"It's only 3-D… what could go wrong?"

"I've been hollering and flailing for days, but nobody could hear me…or even see me. And just when I'm about to give up hope, thinking I'd be here forever, I see you! I mean, you just blipped in here out of thin air! I was thinking-"

"Yes, we'll help you get unstuck. For a price though; we need the bridge to that town."

"Fair enough! But hurry!" Phred held the man's hand and brought him back to 2-D.

"WHUH! We did it! I'm back to normal! Listen, you really bailed me out there. That 3-D business was freaking me out! The name's Red."

"I'm not surprised…" Phred mumbled.

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise…" Tippi stated.

"…Oh, the bridge, lemme just go and put that down for you." He jumped off the bed and walked over to the switch. Outside, lines could be heard forming the bridge. It sounded like it was a fancy bridge.

"There you go! But, I gotta ask you a question before you two leave. What's the manliest color in the entire universe? Red or Green?" Phred took in his surroundings for a jiffy.

"Red."

"WHAT?! HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT WHEN YOU'RE WEARING GREEN?!? YOU FILTHY TRAITOR!! GET. OUT. OF. MY. HOUSE!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

Phred landed on the ground courtesy of Red throwing him out. Stumbling and bumbling, Phred eventually found his way onto his feet; his skull felt damaged.

"If I become demented, or retarded because of that psychotic man, I'm suing Nintendo."

"You don't have to be so aggressive…"

"Aggressive?! Tipps, aggressive isn't when you sue, aggressive is when you throw someone out of your house because they don't like the color shirt you're wearing!"

"Sorry… All that work for a wooden bridge…" She changed the subject perfectly.

"I know… I thought I heard something fancy. Ah well, let's get going." At the edge of town where they entered, a Save Block hovered. Of course, they saved their progress just so they would not have to go through the torment of that red man and his red, red house.

"Since this is a town, it probably has a mayor. And where there's a mayor, there's power to do what you want, when you want. Let's go find him, Tipps." The last house, they discovered, contained the mayor. After looking in the two other buildings without the shop sign above the door, they found a residential house and what they assumed to be a nursery: it had many bunk beds. At the mayor's house, the mayor seemed edgy.

"Whoozit?! I'm the elder around here, so watch it! What do you want? GET OFF MY RUG!"

"Actually," Tippi started, "we were hoping to pass through town.

"Nothing but desert past here. There's treasure, but you'll get grit in your grunders. That's what here is for. Yold Town keeps the treasure safe from YOU. Watch it! Can't let you pass. See this little guy in my pocket? He's got something to tell you. Know what he says?"

"Watch it?"

"You better watch it mister!"

"But we've gotta cross! I'm the Hero of Prophecy!"

"Whuzzat?! Whizzit?! You're the Hero?! DUMPLINGS! If you were, you'd have a Pixl that's shaped like a hand. I _might_ believe you if you had one, but you don't. See this beard here? I-"

"That's a mustache!"

"WATCH IT!!! What is under the mustache? A beard! You know what it says?" Tippi and Phred joined in unison: "WATCH IT!"

"…You fellers are good. But watch it!" With that, the mayor shooed Phred and Tippi off of his rug and out of his house.

"We must have overlooked something… But what? And where could it be in two hou- wait… Your flip ability… we forgot to use it."

"Oh, yeah…forgot about that. I think I know where to look again." Phred entered the closest house.

"The 'nursery?'"

"Just wait 'til I'm in 3-D! … There."

"Wait, there's a pipe behind the bunks… Let's go down it…"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Okay… goodbye!" Tippi pinched onto the back of his jacket just to keep him from going up the pipe.

"Use your flip power…"

"…Honestly, how do I keep forgetting about that?" he chuckled. In 3-D, they passed the Thwomps with ease and entered the door on the other side.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Gee, I'm sure getting bored watching Phred and that butterfly… If I could just do something, I'd be able to stand waiting for something to happen for another half hour." Emiloy had finished the popcorn meant for the four teenagers and she had drunk all the cherry sodas provided. She had read every magazine she could find just to keep her busy (she hadn't done the crosswords yet) and she grew bored with no one else in the house.

"Emiloy!"

"AHH! You broke the fourth wall again!"

"Sorry, but listen. We need you to point the Wii Remote at that suspicious looking star-shaped watermark."

"Okay!" Emiloy smiled, Phred gasped some air, and Tippi readied herself to be decomposed.

"A hidden door… Now we should be able to get somewhere…" She made it visible to everyone.

"Hooray! Now my fun is refilled!"

"Emiloy, you do know there's magazines all around…right?"

"Of course! What do you think I've been doing while I wait for you?"

"The crossword puzzles."

"…Crossword puzzles?" She flipped to a random page in the closest magazine; a new crossword puzzle was printed there. "Didn't see those! Lemme go find a pencil!" She informed as she dashed to the kitchen's pencil cup.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Oh, no… The door… Now we're locked inside…"

"Well that's just fantastic! …FLIP!" He flipped, but there was no solution.

"Ahem… maybe the giant treasure chest behind you has an answer…"

"Tipps, I was just about to get to that. Be patient." Phred walked over to the chest and opened it.

"SWEET FREEDOM!" The lid popped up and a hand shaped Pixl floated out.

"Wait a minute… If I have been set free, the legendary hero must have done it! I expressed concern when the Ancients stuffed me in that chest 1,500 years ago, but it seems my fears were quite unfounded. The hero has finally arrived!"

"Are you… a Pixl?"

"He's colorful, he floats, he functions, of course he's a Pixl!"

"Why…YES! To the lady. I am indeed a Pixl! My name is Thoreau! You are a Pixl as well? You don't look familiar… are you a newer model?"

"…I have been wondering that since you popped up. Are you a new model?"

"I… Well, I… Ummm… I don't know… I mean I'm a Pixl but… er…"

"No matter! Details do bore me! What _is_ important is the fact that I have waited AGES to lend my skill to the Hero. And glorious day, here you are! Do take me with you… _YOU SIMPLY MUST!_"

"Well, we do need a hand shaped Pixl to get out of town… alright."

"You will, then? Smashing!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

**THE THROWING PIXL, THOREAU, HAS JOINED YOU!**

**Use him to pick up and throw objects and enemies! You can even throw while you jump!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"With me at your side, one may grasp objects with great vigor! Simply say or think my name to use my throwing ability! Hey, why not take a moment to get acquainted with my useful talent? You _will_ have to use it to get out of this room… so Ready, Steady, _GO!_" Phred used Thoreau many times to try to hit the out-of-reach ! block. When he set himself to try again for the eighth time, he tripped on the treasure chest and fell in. It did not close.

"Ahhh! Get me out of here!"

"Phred… I found something we may be able to grab… Oh, fine, I'll help you get up." After minutes of struggle, Phred finally stood.

"Thanks. Now what were you saying?"

"That I found a block that you can throw."

"…Wow…Just wow." Phred used the block and the iron-gate dematerialized.

"GLORIOUS DAY! Consider me fully at your disposal. Now, _to adventure and beyond!!_"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"If you had that Pixl, I might believe you're the Hero. …WHUZZIT?! You _do?_ Course you do! You're the Hero! Knew it all along, watch it. Now, I'll give that green feller a call. He'll let you across that bridge." Watchitt, as the town referred to him, whipped out his cell phone and speed-dialed Green. "Hello? Green? It's me, Watchitt…I said Watchitt…WATCH IT!..._WATCH IT! I said Watchitt, not _botch_ it!_...This Hero feller wants to get across the bridge…Yes, I told him about the grit…Ah…Yes. Let's keep that between us. Just let the hair guy through." He hung up.

"Just get off my rug and go talk to Green at the edge of town…WATCH IT!"

"Yeah, we got it… Can we go now?"

"Hold it! I wanna tell you that it looks like I can retire cause my job's done! When you're in that desert, keep a watchful eye for some ruins. The treasure is there. Nasty beasts too, SO WATCH IT!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"You know, I finally understand why he keeps saying that."

"Why's that, Phred?"

"Well, he was ordered to 'watch it.' It being the treasure, watch being… the verb. So he kept repeating to watch it so he could remember what to watch."

"That does make sense… Oh, here's the pipe."

"I hope Green is better than Red." He shuddered.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Hello, Mr. Green…" Tippi then introduced themselves.

"I got a call from Old Man Watchitt. So you're that Hero guy then, huh? _Right on!_ I'll put the bridge across for you straightaway!" This time, it sounded rustic and rickety.

"There you go! But before you go… mind if I ask a question? Red or green, what's better?"

"Definitely green. It relaxes me more."

"Oh yeah! You and me, we see eye to eye in fashion _and_ Shiatsu massages! I'm _so_ glad you came to visit me! Come back anytime."

"Sure thing! You're MUCH kinder than that Red dude. Bye!" the trio left the house and gazed at the newly constructed bridge.

"Is today opposite day?" Phred asked stupidly.

"Never mind… Let's just get out of this kooky town…" Phred ran across the bridge and halted under the Star Block.

"Huzzah!" Tippi cheered. Phred glared at her as if she was someone different. "Sorry…"

"It's fine. It show's you're loosening up!" Phred struck the Star Block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**With a bold quiver of his  
magnificently recognizable hair, Phred  
let loose a sneeze. "I hate deserts."**

**A single grain of sand had  
flown along the warm wind  
and tickled the Hero's nose.**

**It wasn't long before Phred  
and Tippi found the source  
of the sand: the Yold Desert.**

**Along the endless, sun-baked  
expanse, Phred and Tippi  
continued their search…**

**

* * *

**

**Well, that wraps up this chapter!**

_~walks back in~ Sorry to bother you, but I forgot something._

**Santa, what could _you_ of all people forget?**

_To tell every nice person to review! ;)_

**~facepalm~ Please go deliver the rest of your presents to what's left of the world you haven't yet visited and don't come back 'til next Christmas...**

_That's not possible, for this won't go until next Christmas! I'll bet you a slot on the Nice List next year._

**You're on! Gotta go, I need to enhance this story even more to prove Santa wrong- Hey, where'd he go? Ah well... I'll be nice and post tomorrow.**


	6. The Sands of Yold

World 1-3: The Sands of Yold

"Didn't Old Man Watchitt say something about there being some ruins around here?" Tippi asked in the desert expanse.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, the Pure Heart can't be far now… We'd better not waste any time…"

"Wait, you think the Pure Heart _is_ the treasure?"

"It's only logical…" Phred agreed. The first few yards were uneventful. When they came upon the ? boxes is when things picked up full speed… literally. Phred bumped the fourth box and a "Speed Flower" emerged.

"That's a Speed Flower…" Tippi commented. "It temporarily speeds up time, and triples your points and coins…" As Phred touched it, the level up screen appeared. Phred's attack increased by one.

"Ievenfeelmorepowerful! Thisisawesome,Tipps!"

"Justbecareful… whenyou'respedup,youcan'treallycontrolyourself…"

"Iwastalkingaboutthelevelup." Phred attempted to kill the enemies, but they too were sped up.

"ThisisharderthanIthought… whyaretheyspeduptoo?" Phred didn't get his answer, for a Zombie Shroom came out of a ? Block that he struck.

"Oh,no…it'sazombieshroom! Getawayfromit,forit'llattackyou!" Phred, not hesitating, ran away from the deranged fungi, but also wondered if he could do damage to it. This didn't go well since he was still sped up and he kept missing; the mushroom didn't miss him, though. His HP dropped to 5.

"Phred! YourHPisreally low… hey, we're not sped up anymore… anyway, you need to find a Mushroom or use the Shroom Shake… otherwise, it's Game Over for you…"

"You don't have to scare me, anymore. Thanks." Tippi apologized silently. Since Phred could now control his actions and thoughts at normal speed again, he noticed that a ? Block remained. When he approached, the rouge Shroom took another two away from him.

"Ahhh… I'm feeling… fai-faint." Mustering enough energy to jump, the normal, red mushroom popped out and fell onto Phred's head.

"That feels MUCH better!"

"Welcome back…" Tippi congratulated.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean? You thought I'd actually die?"

"No! It's just… er…" Phred gave her the cold shoulder as he passed a red palm tree, not noticing it. He jumped over a pit of sand and noticed some grey rocks. Curious, Phred jumped on one; nothing happened except it came to life.

"It's a Bald Cleft… They're immune to your attacks at the moment, but if you had a hammer or an explosive device, you'd be able to damage it with the former, flip it over to make it vulnerable with the latter."

"Then let's not bother them anymore. Le- Oh dear God, what is that thing?!"

"That dragon-like thing? It's a Jawbus. They tend to bite anything near them… You have to hit the glowing spot on its tail… It won't look behind so you might try 3-D…"

"Good plan." Phred did as she informed and jumped on the weak spot. It took three jumps to kill it.

"Thanks." Phred kept walking without waiting for Tippi to talk to him. They found a door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Phred and Tippi scoured the next area diligently only to find enemies and nothing of use. On their way back to the door, Phred had to flip to 3-D to get past a wall too tall to jump over. After he passed it, he noticed the giant rock in front of him had an incongruity: an arrow pointing to the left.

"Hey, Tipps, is that arrow pointing to a path, or is it just there for decoration?"

"I think a path… let's head that way…" Seconds later, they came across a deserted part of the desert. At the end of that walkway, the faint outline of a statue appeared. Tippi suggested they check it out. A dragon statue, as it came to be identified, turned out to be a signpost. Phred read aloud what it said.

"'**Yold Signpost** Find ye the tall red palm tree of fortune, and leapeth under its branches ten times.' Who says 'leapeth' anymore? And what's this red palm tree? I didn't see one!"

"You didn't… I did… Come, I'll show it to you…" Tippi then flew ahead and Phred had to follow her once again.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Eight… Nine… Ten!" A door appeared.

"That's all? A door?!"

"Well, at least it gets us moving on… I'm starting to take the toll of the desert…"

"Oh, well, let's go find some shade for you." Phred offered. Tippi said that wasn't necessary, but thanked him nevertheless.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Spring pad!" Phred ran to the spring pad on a ledge for the fun of springing up. He found, on a higher ledge, an escalator and a coin.

"All this spinning is making me dizzy… Can we take a breather for a second?"

"Sure, Phred… There might be a mushroom in one of those blocks…" To their dismay, a Zombie Shroom appeared, but sunk in the sand. They proceeded to the next part of the area, which had another spring pad. Up high, Phred noticed a switch stuck in a box with a hole small enough for something to fly through and hit it.

"Why not use Thoreau? He seems like the type to do that type of thing… And the only one who _can_ hit the switch…"

"Sounds fair." Thoreau proceeded perfectly. The switch happened to power the escalator vital to crossing. Once down from the wall, Phred took a chance with the block; a normal, standard, red mushroom came up. The trio, after walking to the end, found a door.

"Careful, Phred… I sense something in the next area. Something that we have not encountered yet… I sense… Irish…?"

"You can sense if someone is Irish?" Phred questioned.

"Well… er… yes, but that's not the point… this fellow seems more Scottish than Irish…"

"Tipps, are you alright? The sun getting to you?" Our worried Hero asked.

"I'm fine… let's just save and go…" They did.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"GRAH-GOOGLY! So yer the lad stickin' his hair in me boss's business!"

"What the hell?!"

"What did I say about cursing?" No time for a stare from Phred, for the burly man named O'Chunks dropped down from the sky, making the doors disappear.

"What the hell…?"

"Tippi! I'm surprised at you."

"Cut teh chatter! Yeh shouldn't 'ave crossed the count! Now I'm gonna 'ave teh get chunky on yeh!"

"You… You're one of Count Bleck's thugs, aren't you?!"

"It's kinda obvious…"

"O'Chunks is me name! And I'm no common thug, lass. I thug for the count o' counts, Count Bleck hisself! One word from me Blecky-boy, an' I come teh make yeh _feel some hammage!_"

"…You mean damage." Phred corrected. Tippi raised an antenna (for lack of an eyebrow). "What? Ever since Ray came into my life, I've been correcting everything… he's the English freak, not me. (Though I kinda wish I were as good as him…)"

"Shut it! Not that it matters a pinch o' stew in a sandstorm, ye be a goner!"

"Do you even know what Count Bleck is trying to do…?"

"DEH! Me boy's usin' powers an' whatnot teh bring back some order teh this 'ere world! And an enemy o' Bleck be an enemy o' mine! They all get chunked!"

"This guy is a lot scarier than the other enemie-"

"Scarier? Please, I've faced Ray in a staring contest… ugh!" Phred shuddered thinking about the longest two minutes of his life (Phred lost, of course).

"Enough is enough already! It's time teh thunder down from on high an' deliver a beatin' o' the ages. CHUNK ON IT!"

Phred jumped on the thug's head, like any other enemy, and he succeeded the first done damage. Phred flew high and jumped on the thug's head again while in mid-air. This sent O'Chunks flying to the ground. Unfortunately, he stood up unscathed. Tippi sighed. When Phred landed, the Scottish man reached for Phred, but missed by an inch or two. Phred tried jumping on his head again, but O'Chunks jumped higher than he, which resulted in damage to Phred. When O'Chunks was taking a breather, Phred chose to make that his opportune moment to strike his head again.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"You can do it, Phred! You can beat that obese guy that looks important…" Emiloy cheered the entire fight, which actually didn't last long. After Emiloy chanted "He's our Man" about three times, O'Chunks fell to the sand, begging Phred to end his game.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"I'M CHUNKED! Me chunks…yeh failed me! I got pummeled an yeh barely sweat yer brow. 'Ey… what kind o' strange person are yeh?"

"This 'strange person' is none other than the legendary Hero, Phred!"

"Fred, 'ey? 'Tis boring name, yeh, but yeh can bet yer bebby I'll remember that!"

"_IT'S A 'PH' PHRED! NOT A STUPID 'F'!!!_" Phred yelled quite angrily.

"Yeh remember this, Fred!"

"_**PHRED!!!**_"

"If yeh didn't look like such a wee toddler, I wouldn't 'ave taken it so easy on yeh!"

"TODDLER?! Why don't you say that to my _face_! Or is that also looking like a toddler?"

"But 'ey, I have teh give it up fer yer effort, so let's call it a tie."

"Let's call it 'I'm gonna kick your ass next time we meet!'" Phred spat.

"Yeh better get some chunks o' yer own for next time, though, 'ey! And while yer at it, why don't yeh cut that crazy hair o' yours. It could poke an eye out."

"May God make it yours."

"'til we meet again… CHUNKS AWAY!" O'Chunks blasted himself off-screen by farting.

"…I take it you understood everything he said."

"Just don't ever mention this to anyone ever and I'll go back to my happy self."

"Deal…" Phred led them to the door that had reappeared after the battle.

**~*-SPP-*~**

A platform hovered about a foot away from the door. Seeing as this was the closest thing, Phred figured this was the way to go. Using his still developing platforming skills, Phred eventually reached a door in mid air.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Another dragon statue… What does it say this time?" Tippi asked Phred.

"'**Yold Signpost** Percheth ye atop the distant platform of blue and… The following is for the eyes of the Hero only: Gaze ye at the side of this signpost.' Well, that's basic. FLIP!" He flipped and found the next message.

"'Press the negative button and the one button at the same time to make something of interest happen.' Looks like we need Emiloy soon."

"It appears so… Who is this Emily person anyway?"

"First off, it's Emiloy. Not Emily. She gets ticked off when people call her Emily. Second- Oh, here's the door."

**~*-SPP-*~**

Phred told Tippi all about Emiloy while platforming the other platforms at the other end of the screen.

"Where was I? Oh, yeah. Second, she's the mother of Ray and Rachel. Third, she is the _ditzziest, clumsiest, most inappropriate woman around_."

"Inappropriate? How so?"

"She… she, I guess, reacts to situations differently. It's always a surprise to how she reacts. And despite all those negative things, she actually is a genius."

"Really…?"

"Don't ask me, ask Ray or Rachel. And finally, fourth fun fact about Emiloy: she's obsessed with red."

"I have a feeling she and Red would get along nicely…" Tippi joked.

"Yeah." They reached the door as Phred let out a chuckle.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"There's the pedestal…" Tippi pointed out.

"Yep. What'd it say to do again? Press the negative and one button at the same time? HINT HINT EMILOY…" the ground started to rumble. "Okay, I'm sorry!"

"It's not her… look…" in front of them, the dragonhead rearranged itself in a sort of puzzle-like fashion. The result: A star block.

"Tipps, I think I found you some shade." Phred, Tippi, and the hand grinned.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Somehow, Phred had found  
the strength to cross the  
desert's sweltering dunes.**

**Ahead was a sprawling  
complex of ruins rising out  
of the sand.**

**Thankful for the shade,  
Phred and Tippi ventured  
deeper inside.**

**They were the very ruins  
Old Man Watchitt had  
warned them about.**

**What dangers lurked in  
the shady corridors ahead?**

**

* * *

**

**Into the damp, humid cavern of the Yold Ruins to find just where they lead! Oh, Santa says hi and wishes you a Happy New Year. He told me to tell you that on one of my presents. He also told me that I have no chance... I'll prove him wrong!**

**That'll have to wait, however... see you next year!**


	7. Monster of the Ruins

**Happy New Year! It's been a day, but so what? Anyway, here's a boss battle. Surprise! :D

* * *

**

World 1-4: Monster of the Ruins

"Phred, I can feel it calling… The Pure Heart is nearby…"

"Yay!" Phred cheered, but Tippi interrupted.

"Wait… I sense something else emanating from the sand dunes. Be careful… Something else is waiting for us up ahead…"

"Right." Phred then proceeded to step down the steps and onto a Squiglet. The door stood there, waiting to be opened.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Tipps, I know we're in a stone cavern with hieroglyphics and lanterns on the wall, but why is it so hot in here?! It's almost as bad as the desert."

"I think it's because of that fire… thing up ahead…"

"That's probably true." He agreed as he jumped onto a Buzzy Beetle. A ? block hovered where the fire spun in circles. Using expert timing, Phred successfully snagged a Mushroom. He jumped to grab it; he jumped high enough to land on the block.

"I wonder what's this way…" he said to himself. A Life Shroom waited for him in the direction he pointed out.

"That's handy! If I die, this revives me. Great!" Phred stuffed that in a special place.

"Let's get back to the door… there's nothing else in here…" Phred climbed the ladder as Tippi and Thoreau ascended. Back at the door, for the fun of it, Phred flipped into 3-D. After his dose of fun was had, he entered the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Those are bigger than the tiny one in the last room… you may want to save yourself by passing them in 3-D…" He did so and remained unscathed. They came upon a locked door, which Tippi put to the back of her mind. Phred continued to the next door hovering in midair with no platform.

"FLIP!" They found a Squiglet and a special block.

"It's a flip block. It will change dimensions as it rotates… It might just help you get somewhere…"

"If you mean that door, then you're right!" Phred quickly struck both and returned to 2-D. He jumped onto the flip blocks and entered the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

THUD. THUD. THUD. Spiky Tromps bashed into the walls, themselves, the walls again, themselves again, over and over and over. Phred passed both and clung to a ladder, climbed it and retrieved a key. They both nodded as to what door needed this key.

**~*-SPP-*~**

On the other side of the previously locked door, they found a Save Block. They also found a strange formation of blocks. Tippi, again, put this detail into the back of her mind. Phred expertly jumped over more Spiky Tromps to the other side of the room. The bottom door bore a padlock, so the obvious choice was the top door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The same puzzle from Thoreau's room appeared, only this time, Squiglets posed as the block to throw. Wasting no time, Phred did his business and rumbling commenced and ceased.

"Something happened outside the room… I think I know where…" Tippi exclaimed.

**~*-SPP-*~**

After passing the next two rooms, Phred and Tippi found themselves at the bottom of a pit. Naturally, Phred used the spring pad provided and found a door out of reach. It floated above the pit.

"Now what?" Phred asked Tippi, breaking their long silence since two rooms ago.

"Try flipping… It's been awhile since you've needed to flip…" He did and found a ladder. The meter ran out so he took damage and had to start climbing again. They came to the top and found a random switch. Seeing as it was the only thing to do, Phred pressed it. Behind him, a giant, red button emerged from the floor. Then the rumbling came. Trap doors in the wall opened up revealing hundreds of Spiky Tromps.

"Ahhh! Run away!" both screamed. When Phred jumped onto the button, a trap door to the Tromp'd floor opened conveniently above the pit.

"Oh, I get it. The Tromps fill the pit so I can reach the door. Never question Nintendo logic."

**~*-SPP-*~**

Four red blocks. They looked suspicious, so Phred flipped to 3-D. He noticed the blocks were numbered. One. Two. Three. Four. The ground rumbled, stairs drew themselves, and Phred snacked on a Super Shroom and saved. He then entered the pipe.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The sun warmed their faces, melted their aches away, and blinded them temporarily. They were back on the sand of the Yold Desert. But they weren't alone, and Phred and Tippi didn't know until...

"WARNING!" This startled Phred and Tippi. Suddenly, the ground started to rumble and five boxes flipped in a dragon's head and part of its body. Roaring, it moved the earth even more. It glowed electronic lime-yellow flashing in and out all over the visible sections of its red and blue body.

"Intrusion detected. Leave immediately or be purged… WAIT. Scan initialized. Black sweatpants detected, green jacket detected, _blond anime hair detected!_ Incredible possible subject identification. But it is impossible. Hold your position. Searching data banks…" The dragon's eye suddenly turned into the search icon for the Wii Shop Channel. Sound effects and everything.

Several seconds later, it spoke again.

"Search complete. One positive match. SYSTEM OVERLOAD! LEGENDARY HERO IDENTIFIED! Forgive me Hero, I am called Fractail. My only purpose is to defend the Pure Heart from lawless intruders. You. Are. Late. I have waited thousands of years for your arrival. You may pass. The Pure Heart is just up ahead."

"Ah ha ha. It won't be _that_ easy. Oh, no…" a demonic voice rang out.

"WHO SPEAKS?" Fractail demanded. The jester clad in yellow and purple revealed himself from his hiding spot.

"So very nice to meet you… _and your hair!_ I am Count Bleck's Master of Dimensions, the Pleaser of Crowds… I… Am… DIMENTIO! Remember the name well."

"I know you!" Tippi suddenly outburst, "You're… you're that…" before she could finish, Dimentio cut her off.

"It would be so very DULL if your journey ended so easily… Instead, it ends with…magic!" The jester then conjured up a magic dose of… magic. The result of the stupendous (yet boring and bland) trick was that of a Trojan horse e-mailed to a PC. In other words, Dimentio corrupted Fractail's hard drive – no, his entire CPU (the tower thing that you put CD-ROMs into.).

"Yes, much better… Now you and this robotic guardian can spend some quality time… Yes, quality _snack_ time! When he snacks…on you! For you…ARE the snack! Ciao!" He vanished.

"What did he just--" Tippi asked.

"He made Fractail a boss… great." Phred groaned. Fractail was at the moment trying to delete the virus, but failed and went into error mode.

"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! I am error. Press any key to restart. System not found. Insert install disk. Disk not found. Please confirm disk cover is closed. Read error. Insert boot disk and press enter. No response. System may be busy or melting into slag. Application error. Save your work and quit. You lost everything. Way to go, genius. Waiting for processors. '404 computer hamsters not found.' Threat level upgraded to Jelly Roll 1. Detonation imminent."

Fractail roared in pain causing the ground to rumble again. Phred's hair swayed in the wind caused by the uproar; Tippi managed to maintain her position next to Phred.

"BEEBLEBLIP!  
C:// run query identification  
C:// run instant generator  
C:// results: go away yeti-lip!  
**CONTROL ALT DELETE!!!**"

Fractail then fell to the sand. Tippi and Phred exchanged looks of confusion. What happened next scared both to the point of falling to the sand: Fractail plowed up and out. The boss battle had begun.

Fractail flew far out into the sky (where The Void would be positioned in Flipside), made a sort of figure-8-loop-de-loop circle and flew straight for Phred. It's a good thing Phred anticipated that, for he dodged with enough time to take a swig of water… however, only metaphorically speaking.

The rouge dragon flew to the left and most likely made a U-turn and headed for the sand. Phred wondered how he could still operate with all that sand in his system,

"It's going to fly in from the right! I can sense- _see_ it… You must flip to 3-D to survive!" Phred thanked her for that and gladly did so. Sure enough, Fractail flew straight down the middle; Phred barely had enough time to get over to one of the sides.

"Great job."

"Thanks, but you'll probably change your mind when I do this…" Phred jumped onto his back. A short cut scene came up.

**~*-SPP-*~**

On his back in the sky, Phred found the antenna and bunches of ducks called Frackles.

"Phred, I have an idea… Use Thoreau to grab a Frackle and hit the antenna with it…"

"Tipps, you're a genius! Though I was thinking that too… I'll give you credit." She blushed.

Phred put that plan to action. Three times successfully, but Fractail started a loop-de-loop. Everything started to slide off, including our Hero. By the tail section their doom was almost imminent. Until…

"JUMP, PHRED!" Taking no chances, Phred obeyed and jumped. He jumped perfectly onto Fractail's head. He thanked Tippi while he took a breath of air in to calm his senses. He then repeated their plan. Fractail repeated his circle; Phred repeated his jump, then his plan. Some say third time's a charm… we'll they're right.

"SYSTEM CRASH! AGH-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G. I have malfunctioned. What have I done… Hero… Hero… The error is mine… I am sorry… Shame circuit…smoldering. Please… You must… Save… Our… World…" With that, he blew up. Each segment of body smoldered and his bones (…?) fell to the ground.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Back on the sand, Phred didn't die in the fall. In fact, he came out unscathed. No sore feet, even. But that's beside the point. A door appeared and the level up screen followed, raising his HP up by 5 again.

"He may have malfunctioned and attacked us, but I owe him a Thank You card."

"Phred… let's just go through the door." He nodded and the most boring chapter of the chapter neared its end.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Another cool, damp, dark room waited. But instead of brown, this was blue, partial green, and white. This had a relaxing feel, but Phred and Tippi needed to find the Pure Heart. And fast, Phred had attained sunburn from that battle. Though he didn't notice it yet.

At the bottom of the room, nothing was found. But after some seconds of waiting, a gentle, feminine voice called out to the two. They looked around, then up. A slender, blue woman with hair as long as her body floated in the air, near the ceiling; she sparkled, so she must be important.

"I am a dormant soul," she continued, "I have waited long to give you this Pure Heart. Yes. I have been waiting for 1,500 years." She then floated down. "Your presence here must mean that all worlds have begun to collapse."

"Yeah… That's partly why I'm not in my friend's living room right now."

"Phred! Manners, we're in front of an Ancient."

"Ancient as in Merlon… crap." Phred proceeded to sit down criss-cross applesauce.

"Sorry about him… he's new. Please continue."

"Well, before I give you the Pure Heart, both of you and I must speak. Listen well."

**~*-SPP-*~**

_**Due to lack of motivation to copy any of her longwinded story, the author will be skipping it altogether… Please do not let this affect your reading experience.**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Were you listening carefully?" Phred, Tippi, and Thoreau woke up from their nap immediately to ensure that they were awake the entire time.

"Got every word… yawn." Phred answered.

"Excellent… I did tell the short version, so I wasn't sure if you would fully understand. Now it is up to you to find the Pure Hearts, for they are our last and only hope. Go forth, Hero, and save the worlds… We are depending on you!" She then called forth the Pure Heart. This time, the Pure Heart glowed of an orange aura. Once thrust into Phred's possession, Thoreau performed a funny dance. Then the Pure Heart lowered itself so Phred could grab it and put it somewhere safe.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**YOU GOT A PURE HEART!!!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Before disappearing,  
Merlumina had entrusted  
Phred to save every world.**

**She had waited 1,500 years  
to deliver the message to  
the Legendary Hero.**

**With the second Pure Heart  
in hand, Phred was much,  
much happier.**

**But six Pure Hearts still  
remained to be found, and  
the journey had just begun.**

**With a flutter, Tippi said,  
"I think we'd better return to  
Flipside…"**

**The weight of every world's  
fate (including the In Real Life  
Earth) rested on Phred's shoulders…**

* * *

**Whoo! Phred claims the second Pure Heart and starts to head back to Flipside to some unanticipated events. Next chapter, we go behind enemy lines to see what's going on there. And there's a surprise!**

**Well, Chapter 1 is done and now we have interludes. Joy... I haven't figured out how I'm gonna post these kinds of chapters yet, so at the moment, they'll be every Saturday like every other chapter. Until then, see ya!**


	8. Rachel Escapes!

_**SOMEWHERE IN CASTLE BLECK…**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Yeah, so… I guess the Hero went ahead and stomped you and sent you back here?" Nastasia asked the hurt O'Chunks.

"Yeh gotta forgive me, Count! I've failed yeh! I've never felt less chunky in me life!"

"Bleh heh heh heh heh heh… So our Hero _is_ real… Yes… A force to be reckoned with…" The count then turned to Nastasia. "Nastasia, the prophecy. Consult it and learn where the Hero will go next… We will lay a devious trap for him and bring him to his very KNEES! BLECK!" Nastasia informed the count that she had already done so and sent Mimi to Merlee's Mansion (spoiler… oops!).

"This pleases Count Bleck. Excellent work, Nastasia. I have granted Mimi powers potent enough to ensure that she will obliterate this Hero. Yes, he will be helpless against her." The count raised his arms and cape dramatically, announced his departure, and then acted upon his announcement, taking the Dark Prognosticus with him.

"Yeah, I'll fire off a memo on that…but for now, we have another item on the agenda. O'Chunks, you got a sec? Good. So some minions we kidnapped from Bowser's Castle before the Hero landed there are still resisting assimilation, so I'm heading out to squash the resistance…and while I'm gone, I want you to stay here. Yeah… You just sit tight and think about your recent job performance, 'K?" With her signature 'K, she departed.

"Aw… I… Gaw, this really tweaks me chin hairs!" the camera faded.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Nnnn… Hmm?" Rachel, after hours of being unconscious, finally mustered the strength to operate again. She stood up and contemplated her surroundings out loud.

"What? How did I end up napping here? Wait… That weird Count Bleck dude tried to force me and… _Ray_ to marry! Talk about awkward… but then Ieda… wait a minute. My friends are in danger and all I care about is myself?! Talk about selfish… IEEEEEDAAAA!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! Where are you? ...Where is _anybody_ at this point?" Rachel looked around, but no one answered.

"Hey, who's that girl with the hair?"

"I dunno… probably Peach."

"You idiot! Peach is a blonde! This girl's got white hair with streaks of light blue!"

"Um, not to interrupt, but are you two turtles talking about me?"

"TURTLES?! We're Koopas! Get with the program!" the koopa who thought Rachel was Peach yelled.

"That only proves she's not Peach…" the Hammer Bro. said, rubbing in the fact that he was right.

"Focus! What happened?" Rachel commanded.

"Your wedding… and let me say that it could have gone better."

"Well, it WAS pretty crazy as far as we could tell from the T.V. the count provided to torture us. Was that guy really your brother?" The Hammer Bro. asked.

"FOCUS!! And yes, he is. Why?"

"We can't find him…or the dark skinned one…" the normal Koopa stated.

"Quiet you! Anyway, the thing is, most of us minions got all brainwashed by that Bleck guy's assistant. Yeah…everyone's half-nuts! It's not safe here! We've gotta clear this area now. This here Private will escort you to, alright? Now make a break for it!"

"What about you, though… what if you get caught?"

"I'll resist. Bye." With that, the Hammer Bro. took his leave.

"Bye, then."

"OK, lady, we've gotta EVAC this zone! Let's roll!" Rachel ran to the nearby door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"You. Give up. There is no hope for escape."

"That sounds like… no. It can't be her!" Rachel's thoughts were interrupted midstream by a white parasol with a black handle on the floor. Rachel picked it up and held onto it.

"………And now you need to," Rachel started listening again, "so I'll just go ahead and pencil you in for a ten o'clock brainwashing." Before the Hammer Bro. could retort, Nastasia lowered her glasses and hypnotized the poor koopa.

"HAIL BLECK!" he roared.

"Hm-mm-mm… yeah, there, isn't that better? So listen………" Rachel zoned out again, wondering where that parasol came from in the first place. She opened it up to find a tag or a name or something… all she could find was a white D.

"…Hey, lady! Back to reality."

"Wha- oh, sorry. Let's go." Afraid to fall and break her neck, she tested the parasol; it worked perfectly. She hovered for moments before gravity forced her down faster. She landed quite nicely.

"Through this door?" Rachel asked. The koopa nodded yes, so she opened the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Rachel had fun floating in the air with her new toy. She got comfortable with using the parasol with each jump. When she finished, she opened the closest door.

It led outside to a very long balcony held up by supports. Rachel noticed, for the first time, the sky was a destructive purple and black. Shivers went down her spine.

She and Private walked until there was no more to walk. That's when Private lost it.

"No… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Dead end!"

"Well, there _has_ to be a way out! Let's go back and check. I might have missed a door."

"Good thinking!"

"Actually, no it's not." Rachel did not want to turn around to glance at that mysterious, blue woman, but wanting to finally know her name got the better of her.

"Who do you think you are?" She didn't answer. Instead, Private defended Rachel, but that was short lived. Nastasia hypnotized him.

"ALL HAIL COUNT BLECK!"

"I congratulate you. I thought the wedding explosion killed you… But instead of an explosion killing you, I'll kill your mind by brainwash. Your luck runs out…right here. It's time you came on over and got with the program… Come and serve the count!"

"NO!"

"…Stop kidding around. My hypno-powers kinda say you will. Just sit tight and relax, 'K? 'Cause I've just got to brainwash you real quick."

"Well, can you at least tell me your name?!"

"Nastasia." This accidental distraction made time for a box to form around Rachel and transport her in the style of Dimentio. Nastasia didn't catch that detail, however.

"What?! That wasn't on my schedule! Where'd she go? …No matter. It's really not a deal breaker… Our prophecy-fulfillment is running smoothly. We have no need for her. Yeah, and it doesn't matter where she runs since all worlds, including the real world, are about to fall…" The camera faded.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**I remember that day well…  
The room was warm. The  
whole place was at peace.**

"**Ugh… Uuugh…"**

"**You're awake at last?"**

"**Where…am I? Is this…  
a human's home? Bleccch!"**

"**Don't wiggle like that.  
I found you at the cliff base.  
You took quite a fall."**

"**You're a human, correct?  
I don't…repulse you? I am  
of the Tribe of Darkness…"**

"**Why would that matter?  
Anyone with a heart would  
not ignore an injured soul!"**

**That was the day our  
paths crossed…**

**That day… That was the  
day our tragedy was set  
in motion.**


	9. And Then There Were Two

**I sense Rachel...**

* * *

The three walked through the vibrant red door. As they did this, a heart appeared in the empty heart space above the door. Phred was in the middle of a though.

"…and I bet all of that Fractail business could have been avoided if he was Macintosh based. Those _rarely_ get hit with viruses." Tippi questioned what Macintosh was.

"Never mind."

"Well, at any rate, we should probably go see Merlon…" Phred agreed with Tippi and summoned the elevator to the ground floor. Upon stepping off the elevator, Merlon's voice greeted both.

"You return so soon?" Tippi and Phred turned around. "I can see from your faces that it went well, indeed. Let's head back to my house so you can tell the details. Please, step right in." With that, he entered his own house. Phred marveled at the blue and green and turquoise house adorned with stars of various sizes from large, window-like ones to the teeny-tiny ones on his double door.

Inside the house, vases, shelves, and posters cluttered the side of the one room house. A bookcase stood behind Merlon in the corner furthest away from the door; a white book standing on a table was closest to the door. After a few moments to take in his surroundings, Merlon directed Phred's attention to him.

"So, how was it, dear friends? Did you find a Pure Heart?"

"Yeah. Lookit." To prove his statement, Phred pulled out the pulsing orange heart of purity.

"Oh ho, such a pure brilliance… This is a true piece of the one true Purity Heart!" Phred put it back.

"Yes, we met Merlumina… She gave it to us…"

"Wh-What?! _Lady Merlumina?!_ You were met well! She is an ancestor of mine. She was the one who wrote the Light Prognosticus to counteract the dark one. Merlumina and those who followed her built this town. They are why we are here."

"Cong-"

"M-M-M-MASTER MERLON! B-B-B-BAD NEWS!" Someone outside cried. One of the townsfolk rushed in, shivering and panting.

"What is it?! Get a hold of yourself, lad…"

"Y-Y'see…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um…  
Um, y'see… a girl fell outta the sky!"

"Could you have been a tad less dramatic?" Phred wondered.

"WHAT? A girl fell out of the sky? What in the worlds… Well, where is she?"

"One floor up. I mean I dunno _what_ happened! But please! Get on the elevator and come up there to see her!"

"So it shall be. Oh, Phred, you may want to come along. Something tells me this will interest you." Merlon and the melodramatic man headed out to find this girl.

"Well, c'mon Tipps." Tippi followed Phred this time.

**~*-SPP-*~**

In the distance, Phred could hear that man's loud, wheezing voice.

"Um, yeah, so I was just looking up at the tower…" Phred zoned out the rest while he stepped closer to the scene. Though, upon closer inspection, Phred thought of who that girl with white hair was.

"Hmmm," Merlon mused, "She does not look at all familiar to me… who is this Jane Doe?" Phred crept now, scared as to who she was. Her countenance shocked him, the streaks of blue dumbfounded him, and the necklace could have given him a heart attack.

"HOLY SHI…ite." Everyone glared at Phred. "Well, you know… 'cus those Shiites are super holy and stuff."

"Phred, is something wrong?" Tippi asked, concerned.

"Well, if you must know, that's Rachel." No one reacted. "My girlfriend." Merlon became surprised.

"You mean the girl foretold to help trigger the Chaos Heart?! The girl destined to marry her own brother by force of Count Bleck?! _THAT_ RACHEL?"

"…Sure?"

"Interesting. Well, the poor girl seems to have had a rough time, of that we can be sure. She looks unconscious…"

"WHAT?" Phred knelt down to caress the hair of his almost late girlfriend. "Rachel…" he whispered.

"Ahem. There _is_ a way to revive her." On that slim ray of hope, Phred turned his head slowly to Merlon and asked, in a quavering, teary voice, what to do.

"You must find the chef named Saffron on the first floor of Flipside."

"What will food do to help revive Rachel?" he sniffled.

"Well, if that's the case, she could die within the hour…" Upon hearing that, Phred stiffened and tossed any other question from his mind. He focused on Merlon. "Ah, I'm glad that changed your mind. Now, all we need is a warming and revitalizing recipe – that I'm pretty sure is a soup – for your friend. And once she's fine again, we'll ask her who did this to her. Now, be off!"

"O-Okay… let's go, Tippi."

**~*-SPP-*~**

_I already lost you once… I don't wanna loose you again_ thought Phred as he arrived at the kitchen. The interior was spotted yellow, and the background gradually turned into a darker shade of yellow, making it more difficult to distinguish the dots. At the far end of the room, a giant Nintendo DS hung from the wall. Next came an old-fashioned stove. A counter bore various greens, proteins, and fruits. Pots, pans, ladles, and various condiments either hung on racks or stood on a shelf. A woman stood behind the counter.

"Welcome to Sweet Smiles!" she said in a black, thick, and southern accent (I'm **not** being racist. That's how I imagine Saffron talking.). "Ooh, sugar, our dishes will turn that little frown right upside down!"

"You better. My friend is on the verge of death." Phred said coldly.

"Oh, my! What happened to them?" Saffron asked.

"I don't want to talk about it. Just make something that will help."

"I can't do that without knowing what happened to-"

"I SAID I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT!" Both Tippi and Saffron cowered in fear.

"He's not normally like this… He's had a bad day…"

"I can't imaging a _good_ day for him… well, will I get what happened out of you?"

"The girl's out cold." Tippi informed.

"Out cold?! And a girl?! Ah, honey, no wonder you so riled up! Lemme just make you some Spicy Soup! All I need is a Fire Burst… d'you have one?"

"…" was Phred's response in its entirety.

"…Um, are you sure you don't have a spare one laying around? I don't think he'll move…"

"Well, I'll check sugar." She looked around her counter, her cabinets, her spice rack, everywhere. Yet not one can of Fire Burst lay around.

"Doesn't look like I got one. Ya know, I think the store above sells 'em. Why don't you pop right in and get one."

"We're gonna have to, Phred…" Phred didn't move. Though Tippi noticed something different about him. Aside from the angst-ridden emotion about Rachel's health, Tippi looked at Phred directly for the first time since entering the building; Phred was looking down at something.

"Phred… What are you looking at?" Tippi, not wanting to invade Phred's personal space just to fly around him, asked to the back of his head.

"It was on the floor the entire time… AND YOU TWO DIDN'T EVEN LOOK THERE!"

"Oh, there, there sugar. We're sorry we didn't look at your feet for the can… Hold one second and I'll set you right to set that girl o' yours right!" Saffron reached over the counter, picked up the can, and prepared to cook. When the prepping was finished, she strode over to the stove.

"Oh la la la la la YUMMY!  
Put it in your TUMMY!"

She blew a kiss into the soup. ("Special ingredient's love, hon!") When she finished, she apologized for the wait, and gave the piping hot soup to the now anxious Phred.

"This ought to wake up your sleeping beauty, sugar! Get to her a- oh… Well, I wish you luck with your gal." Phred didn't hear the last part of her spiel, for he ran as fast as he could to rush to the side of his fallen girlfriend, who now hung in the balance even further.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Please wake up, Rachel. Please, please, please!" Phred pleaded. Seconds that seemed like eternities passed for Phred. Still no response. Phred shed a tear as he thought that there was no hope. He thought that Rachel Brekon had died.

"Ugggghhh…"

"Rachel…?" Phred asked, gently.

"Oh, ho! It seems to have worked!" Rachel soon found the strength to stand upright and not wobble. She yawned.

"Mmmm… I feel like I jus-" GLOMP. "Oomph! Someone sure loves me… PHRED!!" Rachel then returned the great, prouncing hug. "Ohmigod! I thought I'd never see you again! Where did you go after that weird guy took us?"

"I don't know… Bowser's Castle?" Phred looked over to Tippi for an answer.

"Yes… I found him in Bowser's Castle…"

"Wait, so where are we, the Mushroom Kingdom or something?"

"This is Flipside…"

"Flippy-what?" Rachel asked.

"My dear woman, this is the fair dimension of Flipside! It's-"

"-In between dimensions." Phred finished.

"Cool! So," she turned to Merlon, "Who're you?"

"I am called Merlon. And that," he pointed to Tippi, "Is what is known as a Pixl. Her name it Tippi."

"Or 'Tipps' for short."

"Phred's version is cuter!"

"Name's don't matter at this point, so let's just adjourned to my house. I would be grateful if you would tell us more there."

"Okay! C'mon Phred!"

"She's back to her old self…" Phred smiled widely as his bubbly girlfriend fell backward at the lines forming the elevator.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"…And before I knew it, I found myself finding you three!" Rachel finally concluded. Merlon, standing wide-eyed after all of that ceaseless chatter, remained speechless.

"Well… Well, my dear. That-that-that is most assuredly a tale of woe and – what's the word? – trouble." He finally managed to get out.

"And you're sure you didn't see Ray or Ieda?" Phred, for the fifth time, asked.

"I swear I didn't see them! Sheesh…"

"Well, I hope those two are safe…" Tippi said. She then asked what they, Phred and Tippi, should do next.

"'And one Pure Heart shall lead the way to the next…' so it is written. There's plenty more Heart Pillars to find in Flipside. When you find the next Heart Pillar, you must set a Pure Heart in it. And when you do, a door to the next world containing a Pure Heart will appear." Phred and Tippi nodded to signal that they understood; Rachel nodded because she thought Merlon was also addressing her. "And my intuition tells me the next door may lead you to the mysterious Merlee!"

"Another one of your Ancient relatives?"

"…yes… how did you know?"

"Lucky guess. So can we go now?" Phred asked.

"Yeah! I wanna get some action!" Rachel shouted.

"Wait! You cannot go in your condition!"

"And what condition is that?" Phred asked. "If she wants to come, I'm not gonna stop her."

"Thanks Phred! See Merlon? He understands that I don't want to let the worlds crumble thanks to carelessness."

"But, the prophecy says there's only one Hero…"

"And it's only Phred? Get real! I would imagine that he'd need my help or my company- I'm his _girlfriend_ for God's sake! I can't just let him wander around and decide to ditch me for the first girl he sees! Plus, I want some of that 'I saved the worlds!' cake!"

"…do you have an umbrella?" Merlon asked, seemingly randomly.

"What?" Everyone asked.

"Do you have an umbrella? Answer me!"

"Yeah. I found one in that Bleck guy's castle... I thought I told you that, though."

"The Light Prognosticus actually says something about this. I'm to give you a key to somewhere in town. It never said where, but I have a feeling it's near my house." Merlon pulled out a key and handed it to Rachel.

"Wait, does this mean I'm going on the adventure?"

"Yes." Phred and Rachel cheered.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**RACHEL HAS JOINED YOUR PARTY!!!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"I guess we need to find that next Heart Pillar…"

"Yes. Now, I will continue to read the Light Prognosticus and look for any clues that may help. I'm sure that musty old tome still has much to teach us. Yes, much indeed. Now, remember: do all you can to stop Bleck and his plans."

"Got it! Let's go guys!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"…and I think I can also use it to block attacks… not sure, though. So what can you do?" Rachel asked Phred in front of the Flipside Tower entrance.

"Flip into 3-D." he bluntly stated.

"That's so cool! Can you take me?"

"We're not sure… we did do it to that Red guy, remember Phred?" Phred didn't want to, but Tippi did have a point.

"Let's try it. Hold my hand." Phred ordered politely. She grabbed his hand and waited for something to happen. Phred shouted the flip command and Phred, Tippi, _and_ Rachel were now gazing at Flipside on… well, the flip side.

"Phred, this is amazing! Everyone's so thin! Wish I were…"

"Don't wish, Rachel. You're thin enough." Phred commented smiling.

"ARE YOU SAYING I'M ANOREXIC?!?!?!" Rachel screamed to Phred, who was now twitching and sweating.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that… Hold on… there's a lock over to the right of us…"

"STAY OU- what?" Both looked to where Tippi directed their attention. Standing across from the elevator to the tower stood a gate with a padlock on it. Tippi suggested that Rachel try the key. Rachel did so and, magically, each returned to 2-D, waited for the gate to fully open, and walked to the other side (still in 2-D).

"Huh… we discovered a new area… but there seems to be nothing of interest accessible from 2-D… You should try flipping, Phred." After returning to the third dimension, he, Rachel, and Tippi found a sign directing them to stroll down the 3-D path. Naturally, they followed the path, then switched back to 2-D so they wouldn't suffer damage. To the left were five poles sticking out from the ground. They looked poundable. Closer lay miscellaneous blocks solely for decoration. Then stood the Heroes, more blocks and a pipe.

"What's down the pipe?" Rachel curiously asked. Neither of the others knew, but followed Rachel down it.

**~*-SPP-*~**

A wall stood in the background of the room, making it look like it _was_ a room. Anyhow, the three main characters walked on while conversing. Unfortunately, Rachel didn't see there was a gap in front of her; she fell.

"Rachel!" Phred called out. Luckily, the gap was a disguise for a secret room with two valuable cards that Rachel found in two treasure chests. She hopped onto the spring pad and flew upwards to the awaiting Tippi and the uneasy Phred. Rachel laughed what just happened off and continued onwards to the Heart Pillar. She scored some experience points for Phred and herself by stomping on some Squiglets and it's older counterpart. Once that was done, everyone noticed that a pipe coming up from the ground stood ahead of them. What disheartened them was the blocks on top of it.

"Now what? I mean, this is the only way out and that sign back there probably mentioned something useless or obvious." Rachel wined.

"…Sign? Where?" Phred suddenly asked Rachel.

"It was back there with that tall block. Why?"

"I think I know where Phred is going with this…" Tippi thought out loud. She was right if she thought that Phred would try flipping near the sign and discovering a 3-D path; she was, by the way. Some blocks hovered, one stood upright, and a set of them held the Heart Pillar on top.

"There it is! That's what we're looking for, Rachel."

"It's so… ivory. And how come we can't get to it?"

"We probably need to utilize your new skill, Rachel… How does that umbrella handle?"

"First off, it's a parasol. And second, I don't know. Wanna try floating with me, Phred?"

"I dunno… It seems pretty dangerous. But what the hay? This is a video game. How can I possibly die?" With that, he grabbed onto the parasol and hoped for the best.

"That's the spirit! Now, hang on!" Rachel jumped before Phred knew what she meant. Amazingly enough, Phred left the ground with Rachel and it seemed as if only Rachel's weight counted as ballast. They hopped each floating block until the last one where the Heart Pillar stood.

"Would you like to do the honors, Rachel?" Phred asked.

"Are you kidding? Give me that thing!" She snatched the orange heart out of Phred's hands and placed it in the Heart Pillar.

The air pulsed again, which surprised Rachel, and the Pure Heart flew up out of Rachel's hands and back down into the Heart Pillar (adorned with orange this time). The same design (to Phred, at least) filled the screen again, only this time the color was orange. These turned in the same manner of the red ones.

**~*-SPP-*~**

A section of the Flipside Tower came into view once again. The same two lines drew another door next to the red one. When they finished, vibrant orange designs filled the space of the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The camera focused back on our Heroes. About five seconds passed, and the lines disappeared.

"What was _that_?" Rachel, still surprised at the performance of lines, questioned.

"_That_ is what lets us know that a door appeared. Now, c'mon! I'll race you to the door!"

"Phred… Why not just use the Return Pipe? Tippi reminded.

"…hadn't thought of that… But that takes the fun out of the race! We'll use it next time we find a Heart Pillar. Okay?" Tippi agreed and the race was on.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"I won! I won! I won! In your face, Phred!" Rachel called out as Phred exited the elevator. He was panting.

"Ra... Rachel. You... Know... That running... Isn't my... sport…"

"Oh, silly! Then how do you keep up with all of your teammates in soccer and basketball?"

"I prefer football as the name for soccer – you should know that! – and it's not a long distance to run on the court or field." Phred defended.

"Well… enough of that… we really should be getting on with our journey… Come along." Tippi commanded, suggested, and interrupted. They all passed through the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**With Rachel at his  
side, Phred set out once  
again, bound for adventure.**

**This time, our Heroes were  
tasked with finding the  
mysterious charmer, Merlee.**

**If Merlon was right, then  
Merlee was the key to finding  
the next Pure Heart.**

**Eager to resume the chase,  
Phred set out to find  
Merlee's mysterious mansion.**

**But little did he know, the  
evil works of dastardly Count  
Bleck awaited at every turn…**

* * *

**Yay! Rachel joined the cause and Phred's not alone anymore. The story sort of picks up a bit after Rachel comes along, but it's when they encounter Ray that we go full speed!**

**I'm going to be very busy next week with F.I.N.A.L.S. and weekend activities, so if you don't find an updated chapter for this next Saturday consider this is your advanced warning. I plan to get it up then, but who knows? Life happens.**


	10. Bogging to Merlee's

World 2-1: Bogging to Merlee's

"The Pure Heart is somewhere up ahead… Yes, it must be… But it could be a ways… Well, let's go…" Phred and Rachel nodded and started off.

"It's so… magnificent! It looks as though it came out of a storybook. What do you think, Phred?" He wasn't paying attention seeing as he was trying to avoid the red koopas on top of a platform.

"Now's not the best time…" Phred managed to get out. He finally freed himself from the cluster of koopas and rejoined Rachel and Tippi on the ground.

"Nice to see you again." Rachel commented.

"Yeah… hey, looks like we need that parasol of yours. D'you mind?" Phred asked.

"Of course not! I always have room for you and Tippi." She said while making sure that Tippi stay behind and had to fly behind them. Rachel jumped and landed gracefully with Phred by her side. Though when they landed, Rachel couldn't help taking a few steps forward; they stepped off the step and floated for a few more seconds.

"That was fun!" The fun lasted shortly, for the trio platformed the platforms floating in water while trying not to sink. They came to a break in the platforms, but kept going forward to a locked door. They retraced their steps.

"Let's see… nothing in 2-D… wait, it's so obvious that we over looked it… 3-D." Tippi remembered.

"We really need to stop forgetting that. Ready Rachel?" She nodded.

In 3-D, they found some flip blocks. Tippi suggested that if in 2-D, they'd help them get up to the tall plants. Indeed it did. At the end of the hovering pathway was a pipe.

**~*-SPP-*~**

A dungeon room. Three easy enemies guarded a hidden key, which was received instantly. They exited, and continued through the now unlocked door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"This is a very environmentally friendly room!!!" Rachel cheered. Phred could only grin at how happy this made Rachel. Even video games care about the environment. At any rate, they arrived at the other side of the room, noticing a switch in the background. A Piranha Plant sit in the pipe that would help them get to the above platform with the escalator. Being cautious, they waited until it sank back into the pipe and then the Heroes jumped. The second time, they used Rachel's parasol.

Up the escalator they went. Then left. Falling down didn't feel so hard on Phred's feet anymore; Rachel toppled over.

"Oh, are you okay?" Tippi asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How come?"

"It just looked like you took quite… a… fall…" Tippi trailed off, as usual, but this time, in a more entranced state of trailing off.

"Tipps, you having a memory?" Phred asked, remembering how she reacted to the word human in the desert.

"Wha-? Oh, yes… I'm alright. Now, let's hit the switch…" Phred nodded, Rachel stared, and Tippi flapped.

"Down the pipe!" they went and walked all the way to the end of the allowed walking space in the background and hit the switch. Upon hitting it, a door drew itself. They backtracked and headed through the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

A couple of minutes after entering, Phred finally came out of hiding.

"Is she… is she back to normal?"

"Yes… Rachel is not an 8-bit gargantuan anymore…" Tippi reassured. "She even saved for us."

"Well, shall we catch up to my girlfriend?" Tippi agreed. After catching their breath after minutes of running, they and Rachel opened the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"What's that?" Rachel wondered.

"That's a Slow Flower… it slows time and triples the coin and point intake just like the Speed Flower… By the way, if you use one flower and then another of the opposite speed, you'll go back to normal…"

"And these affect. Everything. Rachel." Phred started to say as he gradually slowed down. The slow flower's effects didn't last too long, however. Rachel noticed a pipe and had the strangest feeling to follow it down to the unpredictable bowels of the underground room it would lead to. Phred couldn't say no.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Nothing appeared in the room. No other pipe, no enemies, no nothing. Aside from the Heroes of course.

"There's something about this room… It isn't empty…"

"And you suggest we… what?" Rachel asked annoyed.

"Try 3-D?" Phred suggested.

"No… nothing is in the third dimension this time… I think it's invisible… try jumping around. There's bound to be a secret switch or something." Minutes of jumping went by and still nothing happened.

"This is hopeless!" an increasingly annoyed Rachel yelled at Tippi.

"C'mon, Rachel… we've gotta not give up!" Phred said as he jumped into the ! Block triggering a pipe to appear. "…um, wow?"

"See, I knew you'd find it! Let's go." She said as she led everyone down the pipe.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Ewww! What is that thing?!"

"It's called a Growmeba… The main one makes copies of itself to confuse… But if you take out the main one, the copies disappear…"

"Let's wait until we can reach it and not take damage" Seven duplicates were made in that time and Phred still lost two HP for trying with too many floating around the main one. Nevertheless, they died and a treasure chest appeared. As big as the one Thoreau came in.

"Should I open it?"

"YES!" Rachel ordered. He opened it and an awkward silence hovered over the room.

"Um… hello?" Rachel called out.

"SSS-BOOOOM!" The figure called out. It floated upward. It appeared to be a bomb shaped like a Pixl. Rachel observed in awe.

"Good vibes! Them vibes set off my blow-stuff-up sensors! You like exploding'? Sss-POW! Man, I ain't sensed real good blow-stuff-up vibes in… 1,500 years! Sss-POOOM! Gotta warn ya though, I gotta check thse vibes out a little more close-like! Sss-CRAAAACK!"

"I like him." Rachel said to Phred.

"Check it out: just answer a couple questions real quick. Sss-BLAAAAM!"

"Um, why?" Tippi asked.

"Just do it!" both answered. They then commented that he could be an asset to the team. Tippi reluctantly agreed.

"OK, sss-BOOOOM? Here we go, sss-BWAMMO!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"'You stay up wonderin' if anyone ever gives presents TO Santa Claus?' Totally!" Emiloy selected. She waited for the next question.

"'For some reason, you clean your room before a test.' Depends what test but 'Uh-huh!'"

"'When someone says, 'Let's be friends,' you think, 'Yeah, whatever.' Isn't there a sometimes option?" She selected 'And how!' for the sake of not having to use her thumb more than necessary.

"'You don't understand why I'm askin' all you these weird questions.' You got it, weirdo."

"'You think shoppin' online is a wonderful and magical experience.' Finally a question I can relate to! ALL MY LIFE!"

"'You once put on a shirt inside out but didn't bother reversin' it before goin' out.' Oops… how many times have I done that?" She lied and selected 'Yeah, I remember that.'

"'You wanna be sleepin' when you're awake, but when you're tired, you wanna wake up.' Always!"

"'You're gettin' real tired of these questions.' Yeah, but they beat that crossword puzzle!" She still picked 'Umm… yeah.' anyways.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"_Got it, got it, GOT IT! SSSS-BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! _You got some tasty vibes! Ssss-BLAM! My mind is made up now! Ssss-BLAPOW! You guys… _**are worthy of my powers!**_" The bomb circled around Phred, Rachel and Tippi, then joined the party officially.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**THE EXPLOSIVE PIXL NAMED BOOMER BECAME YOUR FRIEND!**

**Use Boomer's power to blow up foes and destroy blocks!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Ya know, each second explodes into the next! Ssss-BAMMO! Bombs away! _Ssss-BOOOOM!_"

"Can you stay my partner, Boomer?" Rachel asked the bomb. But before he could answer, Phred asked her to talk _"in private"_.

"Rachel, what's gotten into you? You're acting stranger than… okay, I phrased that wrong. You're not yourself right now. What's up?"

"I just… I feel… _connected_ to him. Like he deserves to belong to me and I… I… I feel the need to keep him by me."

"Are you trying to say he's your soul Pixl?"

"Is that the term for it?"

"No, I made it up. But if that's the case, then just say it is and I'll understand. I know you'll always love me."

"It is the case, but I'm not sure if you still love me… I mean Tippi is kinda hard to not like."

"She's just a-"

"A what?! Friend?" She spat at the cliché.

"No! She's a… a… rather _an_ acquaintance."

"Oh." Silence once again filled the room. Then she slapped him, breaking the silence and making an echo.

"What was that for?" He asked as she ran over to the pipe.

"For being an ass." She shot him a glare, then proceeded up the pipe with Boomer. Tippi floated over next to Phred.

"What is with your generation and swearing? You two will be fine… right?"

"Yeah. She does that sometimes." He started to walk to the pipe. "She's a walking mood swing and it's no thanks to her brother."

"Her… brother?" She asked.

"I'll tell you later." With that, they shot up the pipe, jumped the other room and shot up the other pipe.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"I took the liberty of making a door appear while you were trailing behind to show you that I'm sorry." Rachel told Phred as soon as he popped up with Tippi and the hand.

"You… wha?"

"Yep! No thank you necessary! Now let's get going!" She led the two out-of-the-loop friends to the only door in the game that did not pulse a rainbow-y designed crown molding. Instead, it stayed a solid gold-yellow color.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"There's the Star Block!" Phred called out. Rachel asked what that was and Phred explained that in order for them to move on they had to hit that block.

"Well, what are we waiting for?! I want to get to the mansion! It's chilly here. And seriously, who has an orange sky and no setting sun?"

"_All the more to complain about…_" Tippi whispered to herself.

"Are you coming or do I need to kill these pink bubbles myself?" She ran off without waiting for a reply.

"Pink… bubbles? Wait, Rachel!" It was too late though. She had defeated them single handedly.

"Silly, what'd ya think would happen? Now do I have to hit it myself or are you going to?" Phred caught up and struck the block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**On the far side of a beast-  
ridden swamp, Phred and Co.  
found an imposing residence.**

"**Finally, we're here at Merlee's  
Mansion!" squealed Rachel  
with glee.**

**If our friends could only  
find the Pure Heart quickly,  
their quest here would end.**

**But when has fate ever set  
Phred on such a simple path?**

**Brimming with anticipation,  
our plucky Heroes plunged  
into Merlee's Mansion…**

**

* * *

**

**Okay, so the next two chapters are short. Don't hate me; I already hate myself for having them short... *groan* But hey, let's look forward to a longer boss chapter! :D**

**By the way, if you guys care, I passed most of my F.I.N.A.L.S.! I missed an essay, but it was alright seeing as I went into it with an A to begin with... but enough life rant! See you next week!**

**Don't forget to comment/complain/question/suggest if you wish!**


	11. Tricks, Treats, and Traps

**I warned you this'd be short and here's proof: without this and the title, it's only 777 words... :( The next chapter's even shorter, I bet. Oh well, though. It's still an update and those are wonderful! So, despite its shortness, enjoy!**

* * *

World 2-2: Tricks, Treats, & Traps

Tippi had no words of wisdom to start the chapter off with; the Heroes entered the house without a word.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Puppies!!! They're so adorable! I wanna pet it!" Everyone protested, but she ran after it still. The humorous part was that the dog picked her up and threw her out of the house. Phred snickered while she wasn't present and, when she returned, changed back into his calm, composite self.

"I'd hate to see what the parent looks like…" She stammered without fault. Phred rolled his eyes while laughing lightly and grabbed Rachel by the arm and jumped over the dogs. Once in a safe part of the room, they discovered there was no door. Tippi suggested behind the curtain, but no one found it.

"...It's so obvious. 3-D." Phred said as he flipped everyone into 3-D. They then spotted the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

They automatically saved once they saw the save block. Next, Boomer noticed a green girl in a maid outfit. The party walked up to her and engaged in conversation.

"Hi miss. Do you know where we could find Merlee?" Phred asked.

"Whu…? Oh! Well, hi there! Big welcome! Welcome to Merlee's Mansion!" She said.

"Yeah… we got that part. Can you answer my question?"

"Patience, you big- I mean, soon. I'm Lady Merlee's handmaid. My name is Mimi!"

"Wonderful. Where's Merlee?!" She said they could call her Mimikins if they wanted. Phred face palmed and Rachel, shoving Phred over to the side, asked what he did three times.

"Well, Lady Merlee is on the second floor, in the farthest room. Just head up there whenever you're ready! Oh, golly, but listen… _**DON'T YOU DARE GO INTO ANY OTHER ROOMS BY ACCIDENT, OR ELSE!!!**_ Enjoy your visit, OK?" After they recovered from shock, the gang headed in the direction directed by Mimi.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Nothing seemed to occupy the room. But at the end, there stood a switch on the wall. Phred, having an impulse to press it, pressed it. Once he did, bars fell from the windows to prevent escape. The door, however, remained unlocked.

From the ceiling, spikes popped out of hundreds of holes, and then started to descend to the floor. Slowly. Very slowly. Once it seemed that their doom was imminent, Phred flipped and walked to the left, avoiding pain. He then jumped up on top of it with Rachel and rode it skywards.

"That was really smart thinking!" She said as the mechanical object halted. "But looks like we need to go to the other side." Phred agreed, but didn't follow. Instead, he flipped and jumped onto the conveniently placed Coin Block, then jumping onto the platform previously unreachable in 2-D. Phred flipped back into 2-D and jumped up onto another platform that nearly touched his head and opened the treasure chest. He found a House Key.

After feeling guilty for leaving Rachel, he finally decided to head back on the high path to go help her out. After minutes of flipping and bombing, he finally reached her. She slapped him for taking the Pixls.

"Well, what did you get?" She asked annoyed. Phred pulled out the House Key. Rachel, unimpressed, ordered him to take them out of the room.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"…CLOSEST on the top! Yep! She should be there." Phred, Rachel, and Tippi felt skeptical and decided to ignore her and try the door behind the Gnaw (the parent of the puppy that attacked Rachel). Unlocking the door unlocked the leash on the Gnaw as well. Once realizing his (or her) freedom, it chased Mimi.

"EEEEEEEEKKK!" She finally managed to run off screen with the Gnaw in tow.

"I wonder why that savage thing went straight for her and paid us no mind… I'd like to think we look rather tasty…"

"What?!" The couple asked in shock. She ignored them.

"What do you think it means?"

"Maybe she's one of that Bleck guy's underlings?" Rachel suggested.

"Maybe she's a spoiled brat who likes schadenfreude?" Phred added.

"Whatever it means, it doesn't affect my opinion that this mansion is quite odd… I feel certain it holds many secrets…"

"Can we go through the door now?! Please, the suspense is killing me." Rachel wined.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"That was a short chapter… what do you think it means?" Tippi asked.

"Who cares, it's the end of the chapter!" Phred stated. He then busted the block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Phred and friends kept up  
their search, delving ever  
deeper into the mansion.**

**Wherever they looked,  
though, they found no sign  
of Merlee.**

**Where was this mysterious  
woman?**

"**Ah, maybe… this way…"  
So said Tippi, trying to sense  
the Pure Heart's location…**

**With dread dangling like a  
broken chandelier, our Heroes  
hurried through the corridors…**

**

* * *

I'm debating whether to post the next chapter either later today or tomorrow to make up for the shortness... I guess you'll find out soon enough!**


	12. Breaking the Bank

**I have a chapter in Chapter 7 entitled "The Shortest Chapter," but this, truly, is the shortest chapter. It's not in the amount of words, but in actions. Read on to find out why...**

* * *

World 2-3: Breaking the Bank

"Who puts a vase on top of a coin block?" Phred asked after he hit it and broke the expensive looking vase.

"NYAAA!" A familiar voice called out. Mimi walked into the scene, still dressed in her maid outfit.

"_You broke it! You broke my most favorite vase! DOOFUSES! I LOVED THAT VASE MORE THAN _ANYTHING_! AND YOU _BROKE IT_! NYAAAAAARGH!!!_ You will pay for it. All of you, oh yes you will… Since that vase cost over 1,000,000 Rubees… _HAND OVER THAT MONEY NOW OR YOU'RE _DONE FOR_!!!_"

"We don't have Rubees… We've only got coins and this thousand dollar bill." Phred turned to Rachel.

"…Since when did you carry a thousand dollars with you?" Phred asked, scared of the answer.

"Since our economy tanked… why?" Phred shook his head and turned to Tippi who was in the process of explaining the situation to the green girl.

"_Coins?!_ No one uses COINS anymore, you… you… PESANTS! I spit on your money." She exclaimed. "…wait, does that mean you don't have _any_ Rubees at _all_?"

"Duh."

"Well, guess what? YOU'RE JUST GONNA HAVE TO WORK IT OFF, THEN! Until you work off your debt, you naughty little things, _**I OWN YOU!**_" The demonic little girl screamed.

"NO ONE OWNS ME!" Rachel rebelled.

"Well, now _I_ do. So deal with it! ENJOY LABOR!" She started to walk away, but forgot to mention where to work.

"Yeah, so, you can earn Rubees in the generator room on the top floor. Once you earn 1,000,000 Rubees, you come pay it off in the room at the back. You can also check the balance of your debt there. So get to work, servants!" She sang the last sentence.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Our Heroes are now saddled with a 1 Million-Rubee debt. Whoa!!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"No use slacking… We gotta hurry…"

"Like we're gonna go work for that tyrannical bitch!" Rachel yelled, "We gotta find a scapegoat out of this!"

"I think you mean something that isn't someone who's blamed for wrongdoings."

"Whatever! Let's just find something to get the job done fast!" Rachel argued.

"That'll work…" Tippi input.

"Well, let's try the unreachable-to-anyone-without-a-parasol ledge across from where we can jump from the coin block." Phred hinted to the two girls.

"Good idea, _Phred_." Rachel said to Tippi.

"How was I supposed to know I was supposed to think of a plan?" Tippi defended.

"Because you're 'Tipps'!"

"Girls…"

"So just because I give out ALL the tips, you expect me to do _everything_?!"

"Yeah! I do! So let's stop arguing and come up with something!"

"Let's, but I'll have you know that…" for a loss of words, she said something that she remembered saying to someone else. Someone like a certain boy who she helped recover from a supposed suicide attempt.

"Ohmigod… _how is that related to this?!_" Rachel would have smacked her head on the wall, but she noticed that Tippi was having another moment.

"Hey… I didn't mean it like that… I'm sorry." Rachel apologized. Tippi semi-heard it.

"Yo, Earth to Tipps. Come in, Tipps… TIPPI!"

"Ahh! What? Did I have another moment?"

"Yeah, I got worried for a bit."

"Sorry to worry you… it seems I keep doing that…"

"It's fine! I totally understand where you're coming from. Now let's find Phred… wait. Find Phred?" Noticing that Phred was not where he was before, Rachel and Tippi started to freak out. They started to freak out more when they noticed that the Pixls and parasol were missing too. But an explosion from down the hall triggered that Phred was in the bank. Both dashed to the room.

**~*-SPP-*~**

They caught Phred looking down at the remains of Mimi.

"…eww." Rachel finally managed to get out. Soon a Star Block appeared behind the counter.

"So what did Mimi have to say when, I assume, you paid off the debt?" Tippi asked.

"She put a curse on the house." Phred nonchalantly stated.

"So, that young imp put a curse on this mansion, then… But who is she, really? I'm worried for Merlee more than ever now. We must hurry to her aid… By the way, who's the new Pixl?"

"Oh this is Slim. He's got the power to make us invisible and super skinny. Skinny enough to fit through bars and invisible enough to not take damage with spikes when we don't move."

"He should be useful in the near future… Let's hit that block now…" Tippi said. They jumped over the desk, flipped, used Slim ("I LOVE BEING THIS SKINNY!" Rachel commented), and hit the block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**The mysterious handmaid,  
Mimi, disappeared in a  
bizarre explosion…**

**What exactly was her plan,  
and why exactly did she try to  
enslave Phred and friends?**

**After the incident,  
Rachel noticed stairs going  
down. "Here we go!" she added.**

"**I wonder if Merlee is down  
here?" thought our Heroes as  
they traded worried glances…**

**The two solemnly made their  
way down, knowing there  
was no other path to follow.**

**

* * *

So Saturday, we've got some excitement coming your way! We've got that basement maze and then a trivia game, a new character to shoot the breeze with Emiloy (she's getting lonely!) and a boss! ...Now that I think about it, that seems like too much... ah well!**


	13. The Basement FaceOff

World 2-4: The Basement Face-Off

"The Pure Heart is near… I feel its tremors so much more strongly down here…"

"In a basement?" Phred questioned.

"Shh! Let her finish!" Rachel commanded.

"Actually, I'm done…" Tippi said. There was a silence which was soon broken.

"Ah! Hooray! Woopee! Thanks for coming to look for me!" A mysterious voice echoed to the Heroes. They looked around for someone, but didn't find anyone.

"Who said that, just now?" Tippi asked. Merlee revealed a hologram of herself to the party; she was hovering. Red sunglasses hid her eyes while her hair bore no sign of humbleness with its near-semi-circle style reaching all the way down to her feet... or the bottom of her dress. A red dress shrouded her body and made her look pencil-thin. A white collar veiled her face up to the sunglasses. One noticeable feature that could not hide was the fact she had ears; she proudly wore a pair of bubble-gum pink earrings with a star, similar to the one in Merlon's brooch, in the middle.

"Beautiful, mysterious Merlee! Mistress of the house, it's me! So glad it's you I see!  
So long I've waited for you. Your arrival is well past due.  
But we cannot meet like this, oh no, for something's amiss.  
An evil one is after me, and safe and sound I cannot be."

"Where can we find you?!" Phred asked, worried she would disappear at any moment.

"In the basement do I dwell, mazelike rooms are my cell, you will find me, I can tell…  
And… If you do, take care… For… your eyes… may err… Trust nothing… foul or fair…" She started to vanish, but the team knew she was mustering all her strength just to withhold the connection.

"No… I cannot…last… My power…is……fading…fast…The distance… is too vast… Are—" But she vanished before she could finish.

"She's gone?" Rachel asked.

"She's gone… I can't help wondering if that apparition really was Merlee, though. Why do you think she was telling us to be careful when we find her?"

"Search me." Phred said. "C'mon, we got a charmer to find!" Everyone ran down the stairs and found two doors at the end of the hallway.

"Crap! Which door do we take?" Rachel asked.

"Flip a coin?" Phred suggested. They agreed and said that the first door would be heads and the second tails. Heads won.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Boos filled the first room, which were soon mincemeat. The second room held a single Growmeba. They took care of that too. Phred flipped the coin again and the top door (tails) won this time.

**~*-SPP-*~**

They entered a pink room. Something suspicious was up with the room so Phred quickly flipped into 3-D with his companions. He found some flip blocks at the other end of the room and struck each one. They finally reached the top when someone greeted them.

"Ahh, yes, how very nice… Thanks for coming! Thank you twice!" Merlee sang.

"What? Weren't you in trouble?" She ignored Phred's question.

"Mysterious and so lovely, mistress of the house you see… it's me, Merlee!  
I shine on, such is my lot, a sun to those fate to me brought…  
And I knew that soon I'd see you buzz on by, little bees. Hee hee hee hee hee!"

"That is NOT Merlee!" Phred yelled.

"Why do you say that?" Tippi asked.

"She ignored me. And the only person we know of that ignores me is Mimi."

"You've gotta point, but we can't just accuse her. We need proof!"

"…Fine." Grumbled our reluctant Hero of Prophecy. The team walked closer and Tippi spoke.

"We've come seeking the Pure Heart…"

"Oh, yes, of course, I know! The Pure Heart for Phred! …And Co.!  
For you, yes, I'll gladly part with that purest Pure Heart.  
Mmm, but there is a wee fee: yes, yes, ten million Rubees! Quite a bargain, you agree?  
So, folks, if you'd be dears, sign this dotted line here, and it's yours, free and clear!"

"Hell no, you lying, conniving son of a—"

"PHRED!" Rachel prevented him from loosing his mind. "We refuse politely."

"If you lack the Rubees now, a smallish loan I could allow. You can work it off somehow.  
Just sign here, my dear…"

"We still refuse. We have worlds to save and no time to work off a loan. We already wasted time with that Mimi character."

"…Ok, here's what we'll do. Have I got a deal for you!  
Sign up for a loan, and boom! A free gift! Away with gloom! A Super Mega Ultra Shroom!  
Just sign here, my dear…"

"We need that Pure Heart for free… what about that do you not understand?" Tippi, beginning to get aggravated, asked still cool and collected.

"Ugh, fine, you bargain hard, I'll also throw in Breadward, a Pixl made of oats and lard.  
Isn't that so nice of me? I'm the best, don't you see?  
Here, dear, sigh and cheer…"

"Who wants mule feed?" Rachel asked before Tippi could respond.

"NYAAAAH!" Merlee's voice faltered and sounded like someone else's. Someone they knew was behind the plot to slow them down. Someone green. Rachel and Tippi stopped denying Phred.

"Idiots, the lot of you! Turning down such a coup! None of you have a clue!  
Here it is: your last shot! Sign right now, on the dot!"

"NEVER, MIMI!" They all shouted at once. Just then, the real (yet apparitioned) Merlee appeared.

"Good choice, for my sake… This Merlee's a total fake… Listen not! She is a snake!" And as soon as she appeared, she disappeared.

"Mimimimimimimimimimimimi… No point in trying to fool anyone now…" The fake Merlee found herself shrouded in purple smoke and Mimi stood in her place. She wore her trademark yellow polka-dot dress with the red ribbon around her neck

"Gee, lookee here! The girl you thought was a handmaid or a Merlee impostor… _she's actually the faithful servant of Count Bleck, master impersonator Mimi!_ Golly, I was hoping we could settle this peacefully, but TOO BAD!"

"…Can we still?" Phred sheepishly asked.

"NO! Now let's make things ugly for you! TRUE MIMI, COME FORTH!" She cracked her neck. So much that it spun until the ribbon caught the neck and lit up on top. Legs started popping out of where her neck used to be. They grew so long that her now limp body hovered and hung from her head, which served as the main body part. She had become a giant green spider. She chanted her name.

"EEEEEWWWWWW!!!" The girls protested. Merlee appeared again.

"Please, my friends, beware. A barrier protects her there. In fact, it's everywhere.  
I think attacks may well be useless against such as she."

"Attacks won't work? Ugh… What shall we do?" Tippi asked in protest to anyone who was listening. The spider startled everyone with one more 'MIMI' shout. Merlee disappeared, but said to keep looking for her. She then said if they could, the magic could cease to exist. Finally, she pleaded that they hurry.

"RUN!" Phred yelled.

**~*-SPP-*~**

They found themselves in the same drab-y basement rooms. At the far end was a slit thin enough for everyone to fall through with Slim. Doing so in the nick of time, for Mimi entered the room, they walked through the door. From there they left the door selecting to the coin. They were almost at the end when they followed the wrong door back to the slit room. From there, though, it was just a matter of remembering the sequence and not going through the bad door again. Luckily, they didn't.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"SHROOM! We need one after that giant Boo." Rachel was the lucky one to gain everyone a level up. The attacks went up by one. Cheers went on for seconds; Mimi appeared. They quickly saved and ran into the nearest bathroom: the girl's.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Quick, which stall do you think she is in?" Tippi asked frantically. Phred chose the fourth from the door randomly and a rumble emitted from it.

"Hee hee hee hee hee!" The familiar, yet still mysterious voice said. Everyone knew that was the real Merlee. She popped up from the toilet, with a fly buzzing around her head and her glasses were upside-down to convey sadness and worry, and started to rhyme.

"Found me! The real Merlee!  
I shine on, such is my lot, a sun to those fate to me brought…" She jumped off the toilet and walked over away from the gang.

"The real Merlee? Truly? In a place like this?" Tippi inquired.

"Well, duh! It's not like a giant, insane spider-girl is chasing her… Oh, wait, THERE IS!"

"Rachel… So why are you down here?" Phred asked.

"I'm afraid that Mimi freak was too robust, and I too weak…  
The Pure Heart I quickly took and hid where she would never look…  
But now you're here; hooray! This bad tide will turn today! Soon that awful Mimi pays…  
You and I can now join up to teach that tiny, bratty pup a lesson: now let's power up!"

"Then hurry!" Phred and Rachel urged. Too late.

"_Ooh, I don't think so…_" A raspy voice proclaimed off screen. The green girl appeared out of nowhere behind Merlee.

"MIMI!" It screamed. It continued to utter her name, but it walked over above the charmer. The ground rumbled as she did so, and when she stopped, lights flashed and the countenance of Merlee floated up into the body of green. The screen whited-out for a few seconds, then revealed two perfect Merlees.

"Stop pretending to be me! Everyone knows you are Mimi!" The one closer to Phred said. "Come on, friends! Attack! We can drive her back!"

"What is this you talk about? You're the faker! And a lout!  
Don't be fooled by her act! Get her now! Now! ATTACK!" The second one cried. The first started to jump up and down.

"It's me! The real Merlee!" The second one followed suit, naturally.

"No, it's me! The true Merlee!" The first stopped and turned to Phred and Rachel, who wore faces of resembling being dumbstruck.

"Look at us very closely. One of us has real beauty… and one is fake as can be."

"Oh, please, you make me gag. I am hot; no need to brag. And you… well, you're a hag."

"Grrr! What a fib-maker! You're such a fake faker!"

"Oh, now, come off it, dear! You're a dog from eye to ear! And your breath reeks, I fear." The two started to whisper rhyming insults, which didn't last for too long. The first ran into the second, spinning her away. The second mimicked the move perfectly. (A/N: For obvious reasons, I now call M1 the one who started this out and M2 the second one) M1 repeated the move, but M2 jumped. She giggled. Next, they attacked themselves in midair. After that, they wheezed.

"This is going nowhere, see… Let's let them pick a Merlee and settle it; do you agree?" Phred felt as if he would faint. Rachel caught him.

"Sounds like a good thought. 'Cause I'm the real me (hot) and you really aren't (not)."

"_Hee hee hee hee hee… _Oh, how much do you amuse! You're a fake! You will lose!" M1 told M2.

"_Hee hee hee hee hee…_ You're fake, you stupid fake! We all know you're the snake!"

"_**IT'S ON, CON!!!**_" They shouted together.

**~*-SPP-*~**

_**Three Minutes Prior To The Merlee Argument…**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Thanks again for letting me stay with you, Emiloy." A man thanked as he walked over the threshold. Emiloy gazed at the little man. His Hawaiian shirt did him injustice along with the khaki shorts with its tattered, ripped fringe and his off-white boat shoes that looked two sizes too big for him. But the tan skin and chiseled face made up for those factors and the factor of him being in his fifties.

"No problem Dick. I'm still wondering why you came over here…"

"I thought I already told you five times. …I guess a sixth couldn't hurt. I was minding my own business up in Elm when I saw this tiny, purple speck in the sky."

"Ooh! You mean the Void!" Emiloy said rather happily.

"…The what?"

"It's not a What, it's a Void! The Void!"

"I have a feeling Ray's involved… what happened this time?"

"They got sucked up into a video game… and apparently it's now ruling the ultimate demise of humanity as we know it."

"Who made the game, the Russians?" He laughed at his own joke. Emiloy slapped him.

"You forget I'm 1/64th Russian… Anyway, so there's this thing in the sky called the Void and it's going to bring the apocalypse. And now, Ray, Rachel, Phred, and Ieda are the only ones to stop it. Cool, huh?"

"You do realize that they're trapped inside a game, right?" Dick said as he walked over to the couch in front of the television. "And what is going on here?!" He looked down at the coffee table aghast "It's… It's… a crossword puzzle!" He obviously wasn't paying attention to the Merlee battle on screen right then. "Since when did _you_ do them?"

"Since I got bored waiting for something fun to do on the game." Emiloy stated in an as-a-matter-of-fact kind of voice.

"One, I just lost the game. Two, it looks like you won't have to wait longer because there's a trivia game going on."

"Oh?" She looked up at the screen to see that a box of questions now overwhelmed the majority of the flat screen. "Which one should I choose?"

"Try the birthday one and see what happens." She did and the two women gave different responses: March 25th and May 5th.

"That didn't help… try the nickname question." Again, she obeyed the object of her loathing and, once again, two different answers arose: "Bashful Ghost," and "Odd Porpoise." The next question was what they want most: a crystal ball and a boyfriend. The fourth question made Emiloy hungry again so Dick took control of the asking after that. By the way: strawberries and tangerines. The fifth question was the classic, cliché, and Narcissistic question: What's your best feature?

"The lobes of my perfect ears. They got voted by my peers to be "Lobes of the Year."

"Well, that would have to be my effervescent personality. People seem to love it, see."

"I'm making some popcorn, Dick. Oh, you finished for me?" Emiloy suddenly appeared from the kitchen as she said that.

"Um… yeah. Why?" She shook her head. "Now they have to guess and we wait again."

**~*-SPP-*~**

The three main characters huddled as they came to a consensus.

"I vote the one farther away…" Tippi voted.

"No way. She wanted a boyfriend. How old do you think she is? I think a hundred." Rachel stated. She voted for the closer one. It all lay in Phred's decision.

"Are you ready?" The host asked.

"Yep. And I want the one with the fly buzzing around her." Moments passed into seconds, which passed into two minutes of silence.

"_**DING! RIGHT!**_" The true Merlee spoke (M"?")

"Hee hee hee hee hee… Well, of course, obviously! Nobody could copy me!"

"_Stupid-heads… I'd mimicked her perfectly! You know it!... I guess I'll congratulate you… BY TEARING YOU INTO LITTLE BITS LIKE STUPID CONFETTI!_" The game show disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Mimi transformed back into herself… but not for long. She cracked her neck again, turning into the spider version of her and pulsed a rainbow of invincibility, and caused Merlee to panic and run out of the room.

"I will cheer from over here! _Rah! Rah! Whoosh-bing-bah! Hit her in the knee! …If she has one. Does she?_"

"Heeheeheeheeheeheehee… She's a fast one, isn't she? Oh, golly, well, whatever. I'll finish you off first!" Once again, she chanted her name. Phred and Co. ran away from the approaching spider, but he insisted on jumping to make sure she really was invincible; she was. Without warning, a pulse of hearts emitted from the exit door. Thinking something special of it, Phred told Rachel he would try again.

"Don't! We already know she's invincible…" She pleaded. The Hero ignored his girlfriend and damaged the girl. Everyone froze. Including Mimi.

"But…what? _WHY CAN YOU DAMAGE ME?!?_ I'm supposed to be INVINCIBLE!" She mumbled the next part to herself more than to the protagonists. Merlee then called out to the Heroes again through the door.

"_Rah! Rah! Whoosh-bing-bah! You can now hit her, dear! For this is no normal cheer!  
This cheer is magic, woo! Her magic barrier is through!_"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?! When did this happen?!"

"When that pulse of hearts whooshed through the bathroom… which, incidentally, is starting to gross me out." Phred explained.

"What is? The hearts or the bathroom?"

"Which do you think?"

The spider screamed. Phred turned and ran to jump on her again. She lost a leg.

"Oh… I get it… when she looses all her legs, she'll be defeated… According to my calculations, we need to hit her fourteen more times..."

"Easier said than done!" Rachel complained. But it proved a small task for Phred; he hit her three times before Merlee interrupted again.

"Hee hee on you, dearie!  
Now you shall see the way a good cheer wins the day!"

The battle continued again for another five hits. The previously daunting task of hitting her came to be easy now that they had the brat cornered.

"Yes! Yes! Our team's the best! _**GOOO… TEAM!**_" The charmer, in the only instance of not rhyming in the game (unless 'team' rhymes with 'teams'), cheered faithfully.

"Rachel, do the honors!" Phred suggested.

"My pleasure!" She actually didn't hesitate like Phred thought she would. Our second Hero defeated the big, bad, green spider-girl.

"YES!" Phred cheered as he high-fived Rachel and attempted to show physical appreciation with Tippi but couldn't.

"…B-But how could you… It's impossible… how…" She exploded again, but didn't blow up. She stood on her normal two feet and her body was not dangling or limp.

"Uurr-urrk… Don't think you've beaten me for good, dummies… Nex- OOOOOHHHH!" With the pain too much to bear, she floated up and flipped out back to Bleck's castle.

Merlee reentered the room hastily; she didn't want to stall the Heroes of Prophecy any longer than necessary.

"Fine job on that Mimi, yes! The Pure Heart's safe, evil's repressed.  
You know, the tenants here guarded it for 1,500 years, waiting for you to draw near!"

"Is everything in this game related to over a millennia and a half ago?" Rachel asked Phred.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"And finally that duty's done, and I'm ecstatic, for one."

"So… can you give us the Pure Heart?" Tippi asked.

"But wait, ere we finish up, I must tell you something, yup.  
So the Light Prognosticus was read by you, yes?"

"Yes… Where is this leading?" Tippi asked for Phred.

"It was written there that I and my ancestors waited by the Pure Heart, staying spry…  
But something wasn't written there, and of it you must be aware.  
There is another Prophecy: A heart of chaos can only be beaten by four of mystery…  
Four Heroes unite, their hope burns forth light to shatter the walls of blight.  
That is how despair, it dies, such is what we prophesize here in the home of the wise."

"Four…Heroes…" Rachel murmured.

"I am sure the pair of you, Rach and Phred, you two, are the first of Heroes true.  
So then it falls to you, to find the other Heroes two.  
I would guess, if I had to, the others might be known to you…"

"Ok, so we gotta look for our two other friends and the other five Pure Hearts… and we can't do that if we're still here, so… can we PLEASE have that Pure Heart now?" Phred tried politely. She thrust the yellow heart of pure over to Rachel. Every Pixl now came out and danced the funny dance Thoreau did when the second of eight was thrust unto Phred. The "End of Chapter" sequence commenced.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**YOU GOT A PURE HEART!!!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Count Bleck's servant Mimi  
had laid a nasty trap for  
Phred and friends…**

**But with the help of Merlee,  
faithful defender of the  
Pure Heart, the day was won.**

**But who were the other two  
Heroes mentioned by Merlee?**

**With five Pure Hearts yet to  
be found, Phred knew this  
adventure had only begun…**

**

* * *

**

**Okay, so this is the last boss chapter that's this lengthy. I mean, ther**_**e is**_** one in Chapter 4, but that has more action than walking and stuff. ...Oh, drat I just- no. I'm not saying it out loud due to a risk of a hidden spoiler.**

**Anywaaay... next week's the Bleck chapter and guess who tries to escape! Mystery sets in and I update a character's location on my profile. Yay! So anticipate and comment/suggest/flame/guess if you wish!**


	14. Ieda Makes a Run for it!

_**SOMEWHERE IN CASTLE BLECK…**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"…Yeah, so I just got a brief memo from Mimi?" Started Bleck's assistant, "It says, 'I messed up bad!' …That's the message in its entirety. Yeah…"

"Bleh heh heh heh heh… She failed to best him, even with the gift of power? A Light Prognosticus hero… Descendants of the ancient tribe… Their strength grows." Out of nowhere, the burly voice of O'Chunks called for the count as fell to his box pedestal.

"I beg yeh, gimme the honor o' whalin' on this pack o' nambly-pamblies! I SWEAR ON ME WHISKERS THAT I'LL SPANK 'EM LIKE NAUGHTY LITTLE CHERBILS, I WILL!"

"Oh, so, O'Chunks, yeah, you think you're all set to go? That must mean you finished up that report on your own inadequacy that I needed?"

"Eah… Y'see… I…just got a wee bit left. I'm workin on me conclusion. …_YEH GOTTA GIMME A BREAK! _Me written takes time, lass! An' 1,000 pages be a lot!" He pleaded.

"O'Chunks, calm yourself." The count commanded, "Take a minion time-out. Count Bleck will send… _DIMENTIO!_ Come to me… Count Bleck." As soon as the words came out of his mouth, the maniacal jester appeared in his own picturesque way.

"And so I arrive, like a sudden windstorm at a kindergarten picnic!" he proclaimed enthusiastically.

"Bleh heh heh heh heh… You'd like some playtime, I imagine, Dimentio?"

"Oh, yes indeed, my count!" He answered before the count could continue.

"Very well, so you shall have it, but do not disappoint Count Bleck. Dispatch this Hero."

"Your wish is my command!" he responded, with a wink, "Besides, this fool sounds like an amusing challenge. So… if there isn't anything else, I'll just be on my way. Ciao, my count." And with that, he left in the same manner he entered. Nastasia spoke next, tying the conversation back to O'Chunks.

"Yeah, so, O'Chunks? Can you fill me in on why you're still not writing that report?" His short-term memory got the better of him, but only for a second. He said he'd get back to it, calling Nastasia a beard-tweaker.

"Count," she started just as O'Chunks left, "let me just bring you up to speed on the current state of the castle: I still have to root out a few unconverted rouges, but I'll report back soon." She bowed her head and jumped down, signaling she was on her way to doing what she just told the count.

"Heroes…" our alone count told the air, "trying to save these pathetic old worlds. Bleck, says Count Bleck!" he laughed his laugh, "Their efforts are in vain. No one can stop Count Bleck!" He flipped out, taking the book with him. But he wasn't finished talking.

"Just as no one can ease the tempest that rages in my suffering heart…"

**~*-SPP-*~**

The screen brightened up to where Ieda lay in a sleeping position.

"Ohh… My head… and hair…" She tried getting up, succeeding on the first try. "Where am I?" She tried thinking of what happened previously to lead up to now.

"Wait, I think I remember that Bleck guy taking us into here and then marrying Ray and Rachel… that was really weird. But I think I tried to save us and screwed up bad and… wait. Where is everyone?" She questioned, at last seeing that no one (except for two goombas) could be seen for miles.

"You awake, er… don't know what to call you." Someone… _thing_ called out to the Heroine. She turned around and saw two mushroom looking creatures.

"Um… shouldn't you two be trying to kill me?"

"Naw… we're on a temporary truce. Got a call from the boss in the Bitlands to find someone with – what was the term? Oh yeah… – ebony skin. You fit the description perfectly (I think?)."

"Oh, how… considerate. So, you two doing all right?"

"Yeah, we're doing okay. I'm just glad you're okay. (Finally, I'll get that raise for finding her first! SCORE!)"

"So have you two seen two others like me? –I mean, with lighter skin? One had white hair and the other… kinda obvious." She asked, regretting calling Ray 'obvious.'

"No," the second goomba answered, "You're the only one we found. (And the only one we tried to find.) But hey, at least you're fine." The first told Ieda that most everyone else had been captured and that they could be next.

"Sooooo… mysteriously skin-colored girl, what do you say we get outta here ASAP?"

"Great plan. But how?"

"We were thinking you'd have that part of the plan… (Great, we're stuck here longer.)"

"Maybe we just walk through the hallways and see if we find something?" Goomba One answered in a question.

"…That'll work." Both Ieda and Goomba Two answered. Ieda continued, however, "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's get outta here!" She jumped up and spun to face the door... hich was the direction she was facing anyway, so she made a circle. Her hair flowed with the direction she spun, adding to the effect of the spin. Like all good things, however, what goes up must come down. Gracefully, she landed on both feet. Commenting on the fun while heading to the door, the goombas paid no mind to her. They got to the door and she opened it, heading into Castle Bleck's colder interior.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Ieda tried upstairs first while the Goombas automatically headed downstairs. Ieda wasn't so lucky, so she admitted defeat to the goombas and headed through the door they surrounded.

**~*-SPP-*~**

They all commented on how the last room was to small as they saw how long this room was. Nevertheless, Ieda trekked the entirety while the goombas fell behind.

"Wait! Wait for us!" one of them called. One walked passed Ieda and noticed no door.

"Uh oh… Looks like the end of the line here."

"Ugh! You're right… now what?" she asked the goomba while walking over herself.

"I hope there's another way out. (I really need the extra coins!) But we can't be looking for it if we're still standing here! So let's—" GAZOOOORT! Ieda looked down at the goomba, then to the blue secretary concentrating hard on the goomba.

"HAIL BLECK!" the brainwashed goomba unthinkingly spat out.

"GARY!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Hm-mm-mm… I've been looking all OVER for you." The secretary told more to Ieda than to the other goomba.

"You've... been looking for… me?" She gulped.

"Of course. You're the gal who wasn't really a team player back at the wedding. You're gonna need a little disciplinary action for that. So let's get started, hm?" She stepped closer, but Goomba Two wouldn't have any more of this.

"All right! It's time for me to goomba-up! Hey, lady!" Goomba Two shouted as he ran past Ieda, "Got room for one more on your team?"

"You…" Ieda started balling up her fists in anger, scowling at the deserting traitor.

"Good call. Love the enthusiasm, there. Go ahead and swear your, y'know, undying loyalty toe the count, and you're on board." The goomba started cheering like a cheerleader.

"OK, guys, new agenda? Hold this fool down so I can get her priorities in order." They agreed, rushing over to Idea to prevent escape.

"Wha-? HELP! RAaayyyy-ough…"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**You're late. Did something  
happen?"**

"**Yes, my father caught me.  
Sneaking out of the castle  
wasn't easy after that."**

"**I was worried you wouldn't  
come…"**

"**You are a strange girl…  
You know what I am and yet  
you do not seem afraid."**

"**I don't care what you are.  
I just wanted to see you.  
Is that… Is that so wrong?"**

"**No. No, of course not.  
I wanted to see you too…"**

"**Blumiere… Do you mind if  
I sit next to you?"**

"**Please do, Timpani. Let's  
return to our conversation.  
I must know more of you…"**

**

* * *

**

**Surprise! I felt like posting early this week spontaneously so... yeah. There you go! :D**

**On a relative note, here's how to pronounce Ieda's name: Eye•ee•dah. I'm not exactly sure where the accent goes, but there it is in general form. Hope that helps.**


	15. Around the Underground

The team walked through the double doors and finished up their conversation they started when they started to head back to Flipside.

"…So according to you, Rachel, if udon equals what you call a win, then udon is the same as oxygen?" Tippi asked for clarification.

"Yep! Oh, there's that old dude." Phred and Rachel silently moaned together.

"Oh ho, welcome back friends!" he cheerfully greeted.

"Hi, Merlon."

"How was your journey this time? Did you find Merlee and obtain the Pure Heart?" Everyone nodded his or her head.

"Merlee said that," Tippi started, "we would need the power of four Heroes to save the worlds…"

"She DID, did she?"

"…Yeah…"

"Well, if you two are two such Heroes, then you still need two more…" He would have continued, but the ground shook violently.

"Look… Over there…" Tippi indicated, looking up at the Void. Sure enough, the Void grew quite larger than its original dimpy size.

"The Void has grown…"

**~*-SPP-*~**

Dick and Emiloy were posed perfectly like Shaggy and Scooby-Doo; Dick shook and shivered in Emiloy's arms while Emiloy stood there with an indifferent countenance.

"What's going on?! It can't be one of those Californian earthquakes, can it?"

"No… it's much smaller than one of those. Look!" She said, noticing the purple dot in the sky growing slightly larger in area. Dick, getting out of Emiloy's arms, asked what she thought it meant.

"I think it means we're running out of time. I do hope they hurry."

**~*-SPP-*~**

The tremor ceased and everything went back to normal.

"Hmmm… I fear that our time grows short, dear friends. I must return to the Light Prognosticus. You young ones go and seek the next Heart Pillar." He walked off, pausing in front of the red door.

"But first… Allow me to tell of something that mystical book has already divulged to me. It told me that one person will determine whether the Light or Dark Prognosticus will predict truly. Both books refer to her as the 'ebony-skinned one,' but I know not whom they mean. Maybe you two have a better idea… _Now_ I must return to my study to solve the conundrum." He finally walked off into the elevator and disappeared behind its sickly-white doors.

"Guess we should head over to the outskirts of town. Ready?" Rachel and Tippi agreed with Phred's plan and said that they were ready.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Hey, there's the pipe with the blocks on top." Rachel commented. She ran over to it, leaving Phred and Tippi in the dust. "Boomer, do you mind blowing up those blocks?"

"'Course not! Ssss-BLAM!" Rachel proceeded to place him on top and waited for the fuse to explode the bomb. Seconds later, Phred and Tippi were covered in soot from the explosion they had the misfortune of walking up on.

"Sorry guys!"

"It's okay, Rach." Phred said right before he coughed. Tippi didn't comment, she simply followed the two down the pipe to the next room.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"GAH! What're those springy things?" Rachel asked in fright.

"They're just springs with eyes." Phred told her as he defeated the second one. "C'mon, there aren't any more." Rachel, being cautious, jumped over the large, mahogany colored block and landed in Phred's arms. She thanked him.

Tippi, who saw that happen, went back into her remembering daze. She remembered a day where she and another were exploring a cave with only the light of a torch to guide them. She remembered the torchbearer falling down after not watching the floor level. The girl screamed and bravely, without looking down, jumped. Not even seconds passed when she realized that the torchbearer had caught her. She opened her eyes to see his face smiling down at her. She-

"Tipps! Earth to Tippi! Hello?" Phred interrupted.

"Wha-? Oh, did I daze again?"

"Yeah. We were super worried about you, though." Rachel added.

"I'm so sorry… I'm wasting time… We need to put the Pure Heart in…"

"Truth be told, Phred already did that." Rachel input fast.

"Really?"

"No." he said, glaring a Rachel. "I needed Slim, but Rachel hid him somewhere and I can't find him. I was kinda waiting for you to wake up so Emiloy could hunt for him on screen."

"No… I'll just show you where he is." Rachel told him out of guilt. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the triangle Pixl.

"Thank you. Now we may actually get somewhere." Phred flipped to 3-D, used Slim and undid everything so he could place the third Pure Heart in the yellow Heart Pillar. The same clockwork design, now in yellow, filled the screen.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Like the other two times, a section of the Flipside Tower came into view. Those two lines drew a third door. The lines placed it next to the orange door and this door had a distinct yellow hue.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The lines disappeared again and Phred joined his friends again. He saw enough to see that Rachel had taken Tippi down the nearest pipe.

"Rachel, get back here!" he called to her.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Awww, you caught me!"

"I'm just glad you didn't have the power to flip into 3-D and escape from me." Phred said, pointing to the hole in the wall.

"Well, enough of this… We need to get back to the Flipside Tower…" Tippi commented. The teens nodded and Phred flipped for Rachel. As they headed down the tunnel-like hallway, Phred couldn't help but wonder...

"What if Ieda's the 'ebony-skinned one.' It fits, seeing as she's the only one with that skin color in the entire game."

"It would make sense..." Tippi stated as they returned to normal view. Rachel gasped when she spotted a switch mere inches from where they stood.

"Ooo! A switch!" She proclaimed, rushing over to activate it. When she did, the first four blocks from the bottom of the wall they stood on top of repositioned themselves to allow entrance to anyone brave enough to go down the pipe. Rachel, without even thinking, headed down before Phred could protest.

"Tippi? What's down that pipe?" he asked concerned.

"I hate to tell you... but that's the Pit of 100 Trials... it's a grueling series of rooms with various enemies from all over the dimensions. There's a key in each room that leads to the next and the challenger has five minutes to find the key in each room... I don't know anything else about it..." There was a short pause. She continued, "Technically, we shouldn't even be able to access it..."

Phred's heart started to race.

_"What has she got herself into this time?"_

_**Two Hours Later…**_

"Got any three's?"

"Go fish…" Tippi answered. Phred drew from the deck a six. "So what's Ray like?" Tippi asked, stirring up conversation.

"Ray is… an enigma. But usually he's an egotistical, wrist-slitting, basterd."

"Why did you say bast- that word like that?"

"So I don't get in trouble with my parents if Emiloy already called them up. I doubt it, though."

"You mentioned he… slits his wrists?"

"He's a hard-core emo. Don't ask. I don't know why – or how, for that matter – it even started. According to Rachel, it started when he was nine or something. But that's all she knows of it."

"Oh… Got any sixes?"

"Here." He handed her the card he just won. "So anyway, don't be surprised if he attacks me when we meet up with him."

"Why? You never mentioned any friction between you two…"

"That's another point of mystery. He randomly takes all his rage and fury out on me. I don't know why though."

"How come?" She asked for a king, Phred gave it to her.

"Well, like you, I don't remember anything from my past. But mine has a limit. You see, and this is according to Rachel again, I was ten and something happened. A couple weeks later, I woke up in a hospital staring up at Rachel about the same age as she was now."

"But you said you were ten… how could you see her in the blossoming years back then when she's of that age now?"

"It's a _long_ trilogy... Actually, me loosing my memory is part of that trilogy, I think."

"So you don't want to talk about it? Any eights?"

"Well, that's really not the case... It's more like I can't. Oh, and go fish."

"How can you not?" She asked, picking up the eight she desired, yet not completing the set.

"Well, like I said, Rachel's the one who told me what happened. And no matter how many times she tells me, I just can't remember anything from birth to ten… let alone remember what she said. I think my mind rebukes that information."

"Ah… Got any sevens?" Tippi asked.

"Go fish." Tippi picked up a ten.

"Any threes?" Phred inquired a second time.

"Go fish…"

"Guys?" Phred spun around, still sitting Indian-style, and saw Rachel bruised and having difficulty standing.

"Rachel! What happened?!"

"That… is literally… a pit... of a hundred... trials. But... it was so worth it!" As if nothing had happened to her, she regained her bouncy stance and seemed to disregard the fact that she was bruised. "Look at what I won!" She fanned out nine cards resembling Pixls (ones already joined and future ones) and one new Pixl member: Dashell.

"I swear though, that final boss was such a pain! I had to grab these ducks and throw them at this antenna thing on its head! And it was an annoying shade of white; I'd swear it was a Macintosh product." Phred blushed, hiding a laugh. Tippi did too.

"What?"

"No-nothing. C'mon. We gotta get to that yellow door. I think there's an elevator over there." Phred pointed behind him. They headed to it (forgetting the playing cards), while the Pixls got more acquainted with their new friend.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Who'da thought that Flipside has a bar." Rachel commented.

"It's a juice shop…" Tippi corrected.

"Enough, we need to concentrate." Phred reminded.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The team finally arrived back at the marble tower and headed for the newest door. Once inside, they found themselves in a land built on the 8-bit design of early games…

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Phred and his friends  
opened the door, unsure of  
what they would find.**

**All the while, Merlee's words  
about finding the 'other two  
Heroes' rang in their minds.**

**These other Heroes were most  
likely in the new world. But where?**

**Meanwhile, the creeping void  
grew larger in the skies  
above Flipside and reality.**

**The hopes of all worlds rested  
on the Heroes finding the next  
Pure Heart…**

**

* * *

**

**I forgot that I referenced my own future books...! XD This is the best of the early chapters and they get better from here on, trust me! Because... guess who's joining next!**

**Here's a clarification of what happened near the pit: Phred and Tipps became bored of waiting for Rachel and decided to go to the store and buy a pack of playing cards (not the game's kind, but the ones used in Solitaire, Poker, Blackjack, etc.). Turns out that the store had one pack and he gave it to the two for free. As they're waiting, they play Go Fish for most of the time and the story picks up as they're discussing Ray and his... personality?**

_Wow, you make me sound like a blank slate..._

**Ray! You aren't supposed to be here! Get back in the Bitlands.**

_Nah. I'm fine here._

**Ugh. Fine. I was just closing anyway. Feel free to stay here.**

_At least I'll be alone._

***rolls eyes; walks off***


	16. When Geeks and Emos Attack

**The time has come! :D**

* * *

World 3-1: When Geeks & Emos Attack

"So this is where that door leads… I suppose the next Pure Heart must be nearby… But that's odd… I can feel it nearby, but where could it be…"

"Dunno, Tipps." Phred told her.

"Well I'll—AAAACK!"

"Tippi!" Rachel yelled while the butterfly flew backwards, trapped in a sticky thing soon figured as the tongue of a chameleon. Its owner laughed a fanboy-ish laugh.

"Ner-herrrr herrr herrr herr!" It showed itself to be a geeky frog-looking chameleon. His glasses made his eyes look wonky and the yellow shirt with miscellaneous Mario paraphernalia images distracted the eye. His fanny pack held his laptop and a beeper.

"_HI-TECHNIAAAAAAAL!_ I CAUGHT A SUPER-RARE, PIXELATED BUTTERFLY!"

"Hey, that's _our_ super-rare, pixilated butterfly, you geek!" Rachel yelled to the geek. Ignoring her, he continued to talk to himself.

"My friends at are going to freak when they get word of this find! I must bring it home though. I can't miss this week's episode of 'The Grodus Chronicles'! I am so not going to entrust my digital Recordomeow to tape an episode so epic. This is so hi-technicaaaaal!" He became invisible again and raced off to his castle.

"What the fu-"

"Whoa-ho-ho! A kidnapping!"

"Who said that?!?!" A paranoid Rachel asked to Phred. He shrugged his shoulders casually.

"Ohhhh, the despair! The awful spectacle of it all!" The nearest bush shuffled. "The shocking scene occurred right before my very own tender eyes! Well… I guess that's a wrap for that Pixl. Now that that freak Francis has got her…" Phred and Rachel walked over to the bush and searched for whoever was talking.

"Ouch! Is this a rose-bush?" Observed Rachel.

"Sorry, that was me." The voice told Rachel. With his presence revealed, he jumped out of the bush and revealed that he was a prickly Pixl.

"So who are you two? Friends of the butterfly girl that got nabbed?"

"Yeah. What's it to you?"

"Well that's a pity 'cause you'll never see her again unless you storm that geek's castle."

"Oh. So who was that geek?"

"Oh, that's Francis. Basically the nerd to end all nerds. Plus he's got a thing for butterflies and anything nerdy. Once he gets his sweaty mitts on something he likes, there's no getting it back, like I said earlier."

"But you also said 'unless you storm his castle'." Phred pointed out.

"That's another point: his castle is like a big fantasy fortress. It's a geek paradise."

"That's not what I'm getting at. We want to get to this 'Fort Francis.' But we need some help."

"What? You actually want to get to that nerd shelter?!"

"Yes! We must get her back!" Rachel added.

"Well… alright. If you go ALL the way down ahead for miles and miles, you'll find it. But can I say-"

"No." Phred and Rachel interrupted.

"Fine. Oh, this is such a tender moment. I think I got something in my eye here." He started blushing. He quickly recovered his stance on the subject and continued.

"Erm... listen and listen well! There's three key points to remember to get to the fort. Tip one: A bunch of no-class jerks are holed up in this castle up ahead with this pale guy dressed in all black commanding."

"Ray!" Rachel absent-mindedly shouted. Phred turned to his wide-eyed girlfriend, who clasped her hands over her mouth out of shock. He turned back to the prickly Pixl.

"Anyway, it's not gonna be easy getting past them, but here's the juice: It's an old castle. There's this red X on the side. You do your thing with that and something'll happen." Phred cringed at the thought of the something.

"Tip two: If you somehow pass those guys with the castles, you'll see an ocean. Can't miss it."

"And you expect us to breath down there?" Rachel asked.

"Yep. Now, a huuuuuuuuue and scaaarrry sea monster lives there and boy is he cranky!"

"I can deal with that." Phred boasted.

"Aim for the red flipper thing and something good'll happen. And now for tip number three! If you get past that Blooper, you'll see a humongous tree. A giant gorge blocks the other side and there's no jumping across it. Not even if you have a parasol." He said as Rachel was getting the parasol out to show. "Look for red wind and do something like ride it. Then you can get across."

"I think I got it. Look for anything red."

"Good. You be careful now."

"Hey, why don't you join us?" Rachel asked. "That way, in case we forget something, you can just retell us."

"Because I'm a chicken."

"Well, no better time to get over your fears than now! I mean, come on! You're made of spikes… how can you get hurt?"

"I don't want to take my chances."

"Well you're coming whether you like it or not!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

**BARRY, THE PRICKLY PIXL, HAS BEEN FORCED TO JOIN YOUR GROUP!**

**Use Barry to create a spiky barrier around you!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"We better get going." Phred told Rachel. She agreed and walked alongside Phred. They jumped up on top of a coin block and came upon a set of hills infested with koopas. Jumping on the one at the top of the set of hills and then sending it down the hills sparked a chain reaction of killing koopas with their own kind, making it easier to climb down the hills. Once down there, they came to a tall pipe. Naturally thinking of what Tippi would say, Phred grabbed Rachel and flipped, passed the pipe, and flipped again. They ignored the flip block and focused on the problem at hand.

They came to a set of red pipes and a gap in between them.

"Think there's a passage down there?"

"Worth a shot. Why else would there be **red** pipes?" Rachel asked. They fell down the hole.

**~*-SPP-*~**

They landed on their feet in an underground dungeon. The two easily maneuvered and successfully reached the pipe connecting them with the fresh air once again.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Whoa! Those guys came out of nowhere!"

"Don't worry Rachel, they're just football koopas."

"But they're playing soccer."

"Exactly."

The two dodged the koopa strikers and eventually found a window of time to defeat them all. A second set appeared soon after and the team repeated what they just did. Eventually, after all the koopa strikers were defeated, the came upon the first castle. Like Barry described, it was an old one. However, it was much smaller than expected and there was no red X.

"HAAAALT!" one of the minions commanded. "Yeah, you! This is Ray's castle! And His Sadness doesn't want you two finding him! You're about to get a complimentary nose job, courtesy of my shell!"

"Wait, Ray doesn't want his sister finding him?" Rachel asked.

"Orders are orders, Miss. NOW DIE! Come on out, fellas!" A brigade of normal koopas appeared and cheered. This was a cakewalk for Phred and Rachel, who merely skipped all of the enemies in 3-D. Upon reaching the third castle, they flipped back into 2-D and Rachel found the X and used Boomer to destroy it. The castle then proceeded to blow up; the enemies yelled in pain.

Raymond Brekon fell from the sky.

"Ow."

"Ray! Ohmigod! You're fine!" Rachel ran to her brother and hugged him.

"Rachel? OOF! C-can't b-b-breath…"

"Sorry! Oh, sorry, Ray." She un-clung herself from her brother.

"I always said she'd be the death of you." Phred coolly commented.

"YOU! Rachel, get back."

"Bu-"

"NOW!" She unwillingly obeyed her younger brother. As soon as Ray figured she was far enough back, he snapped his fingers. Just then, a wall formed around Ray and Phred.

"Ray, you can't do this! There's no time!" Rachel screamed, trying to get her voice to penetrate the wall.

"Ha ha! You just lost your right to date my sister and the right to live! Special two for one deal. Like it?"

"Ray, we don't have time. The world is collapsing."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE ECONOMY! I just want you out of the way!" He threw the knife that Phred had worked so hard to help pay for earlier that year. It missed and got stuck in the wall.

"Ha. Missed me! Now what're you gonna do?" Phred taunted.

"So? I have unlimited knives." Ray smiled a mischievous grin. Phred wiped the smile off his face and gulped.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Ha ha! Ray's so going to own that Phred person." A new voice told Emiloy and Dick.

"Don't be fooled, Danile." Emiloy stated. "Phred's proven to be really good through this. Who do you think will win, Dick?" He was indifferent.

"We'll you're no help, like always." Danile insulted.

"Take that back! Just because I can't choose who I want to win means that I'm of no help to an argument."

"I agree… with Danile." Emiloy said. "Only because I still hate you."

"What did I ever do to you?!" He asked.

"You don't remember? Shame."

"Well, screw you two, I'm getting a snack." He angrily stormed off into the kitchen.

"Now, where were we? Oh yeah, I also think Phred'll win because that's the only way the game will progress." She stared at the screen. Apparently, they missed the fight. "See?"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Nooooo! I HATE YOU, PHRED!" The wall disappeared, and Rachel rushed to the side of Phred.

"Phred, are you all right?" She asked, worried. Ray mimicked the comment.

"My own _sister_ doesn't even care about me…"

"Speaking of you, what are you even doing here?" Phred asked the depressed teenager.

"Search me. But I really loved Count Bleck's castle. Unfortunately, something made me come here and I found those turtles and they just obeyed my every command. God, I miss that castle…"

"Well, now that you have some free time, why don't you go with us?" Rachel asked. "I mean, all this _was_ just for you before all this happened."

"…Why should I?"

"Because the worlds are falling apart in the game and in reality." Phred explained.

"Oh. Then no, I don't want to save the world _**again**_."

"Oh, come on! Pleeeeeeeeeeeaaase?" Rachel asked.

"No, this was supposed to de-stress us from the last adventure that that person who thinks he can just write my life sent us on."

"I thought you wanted something interesting to happen." Rachel argued, changing the subject quickly.

"…When did I tell you that?"

"Last night at dinner." Phred answered.

"SINCE WHEN DID YOU START EATING AT OUR HOUSE?!"

"Please, Ray, Phred and I went out on a dinner date last night."

"Those are supposed to be _out of the house_. That's why you _go __**out**_!"

"It doesn't matter! Plus, I have a reason as to why you should join us." Said Phred.

"And? I'm waiting…"

"What good is suicide if the world kills you first? Isn't that humiliating?" Rachel, getting the idea, added to that comment.

"All those precious hours cutting yourself will have gone to waste if the world ends before you kill yourself. You'd have a wasted life."

"……………………Fine."

**~*-SPP-*~**

**RAY HAS JOINED YOUR PARTY!!!  
**(Things should get interesting…)

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Ray!" one of the koopa strikers called out from behind, "You leaving?" Ray turned to him and replied that indeed he was.

"And remember what I told you."

"Across the street, not down the road!" They all called out. Phred made a concerned face, but it was Rachel that asked the question.

"Ray… you didn't tell them to cut themselves, did you?"

"No." he lied.

"…Why do I not believe him?" Phred asked to himself, silently.

"We're wasting time. Let's go get those Pale Hearts or whatever."

"Pure." Phred semi-consciously corrected.

"WHATEVER! Let's just get them!" Ray yelled. The trio started walking on, but not even a minute later, Ray spotted the Star Block.

"What's that thing do?"

"It ends a chapter. Why?"

"I wanna end this chapter."

"Fine." With that, Ray struck the block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**With Ray in the party,  
the three Heroes made a  
most unlikely, yet familiar, trio.**

**Rachel attempted to explain  
the quest to Ray, but he  
didn't care about it.**

**So, as Phred walked ahead, he  
spotted something that made  
him briefly stop and stare…**

"**What're we looking at?" Rachel  
asked, as she turned to see  
the blue expanse ahead.**

**The great, glittering waves  
of the Tile Pool stretched  
as far as the eye could see.**

**Fort Francis was somewhere  
across the water…  
"Tipps…" Phred whispered.**


	17. Bloops Ahoy

World 3-2: Bloops Ahoy

No one cared that, after several minutes, they were on the sea floor and were still alive despite the pressure and lack of oxygen. In fact, Phred would have almost called it normal considering the many odd things he's experienced with the twins.

Phred looked back at Rachel, who greeted his glance with a pristine smile; her red eyes shimmered off of the ocean light. He then glanced to Ray, who used his ultra-violet hued eyes to glare menacingly at him. Quickly, Phred turned back to what was in front of him.

"So now what?" Ray asked.

"I think it's obvious that we need to get through the sea. The only way, it looks like, is forward." Rachel answered for Phred, who hadn't said anything since they stepped in the water. All he did, in response, was lead the two siblings forward, like Rachel suggested.

Along the way to the other side of the area, the team encountered enemies that neither Phred nor Rachel could conquer. Ray realized this and strongly protested as he snacked on a mushroom that popped up out of a ? box. Rachel eventually convinced him that the killing would be fun. What convinced him otherwise was the constant movement of the bloopers which never allowed him time enough to aim.

"DIE! Stupid sushi!"

"Ray, look out!" Rachel screamed as a part of the seafloor started to suck him down. He did nothing, resulting in suicide. Thankfully, it only did one damage and reappeared next to Rachel. The rest of the way, Phred and Rachel had to tolerate Ray's complaining at a failed suicide attempt. An un-interfered one at that.

Before the team arrived at the pipe trapped in a box, Rachel and Phred took notice at the six wooden pillars. Ray bumped the save block on the left of the box thinking it was another star block. Phred thought to flip in 3-D ("What're you- wha...?!"), swim up, and return to the second dimension to go down the pipe.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"How the hell did you do that, Phred?" Ray asked in an interested voice, forgetting his hatred for him. The lack of an answer rekindled said hatred. The team continued to swim, avoiding large tentacles and a few whirlpools. Near the middle of that area, they found a sea cave with a pipe in it. Everyone followed Rachel down it.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The room locked them in as soon as everyone was through the door.

"We're trapped!" Rachel whined in a panic. "And there's lots of enemies!" Ray, being the only one able to defeat the enemies, made quick work of it and revealed a treasure chest. Rachel rushed over before Phred could while Ray stood by the locked door contemplating the iron bars.

Upon opening it, a Pixl popped out and shouted an interjection.

"In case you ain't heard, I throw a lot of girth around these parts." It said while Rachel backed off and Phred came up to her from behind. "And I'm gonna check you out to make sure you got the weight to hang with me." Rachel started sweating.

"Phred, save me from this guy…" She whispered as the Pixl floated closer.

"All right, let's start by checking that face of yours. Look at those big, scarlet eyes! You make my girthy heart flutter, girl!"

"Don't get used to it…"

"Those eyes of yours have got some heavy to 'em! You get 70 girth points! Now, let's check the girthness of your cloths! A light blue tank top and shorts in this freezing cold water? It takes guts to wear that here. BAM! There's 100 girth points!"

"I've survived colder…" Ray muttered from his position. It went ignored.

"Next the body!" Phred and Rachel (even Ray) glared at the Pixl. "That's where the real heavy comes from."

"ARE YOU SAYING I'M FAT?!?!"

"Feisty! You may be slender, but your attitude is beefy, girl! Wouldn't wanna mess with a chick like you! You get 1,000,000 girth points!!!" Phred and Rachel exchanged looks of knowing this was another set of automatic responses programmed by Nintendo and they fell for it. Ray, knowing this, laughed at them.

"The sheer girthitude on display here is blowing my mind! There's no getting around it! You've got heavy like I've never seen before! Any fool that gets in your way and you just've GOT to girth him up! Love it! Smash and _squish_ those lightweights! You're goin' places with girth like that, and I wanna come along for the ride!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

**THE GROUND-POUNDING PIXL NAMED THUDLEY JOINED YOU!**

**Now you can unleash a powerful attack on anything right below you when you jump!  
You can even ground-pound enemies underwater!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"With our girths combined, nobody can stop us! But you gotta get out of this room first… put my heavyweight power to work!"

"That's ok, I'll let Ray do the honors." Rachel coolly said. Ray, complaining about having to do everything for the group, reluctantly slammed down on the wooden pole he used as a seat to contemplate the bars that now vanished upon hitting the pole.

"One more thing." Thudley started, "There's these six poles by a door and some un-girthy guy that didn't look like an ancient told me 'second, third, fifth'. I think that relates to those poles." Keeping that clue in mind, Phred led everyone out of the room and back to the poles where they used his clue to reveal a door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Dude, those ducks are _huge_!" commented Ray as he attempted to throw several knives at different ones. Successfully killing all of them, they were about to pass over a large trench when everything started vibrating.

"BLOOOP!" Some sort of voice called out. Two of the ducks floating there, minding their own business, ran off afraid of knowing what that was. An odd, raspy fish-sounding voice spoke before Rachel could say how scared she was.

"BLUH-BLOOOOP!" The vibrating subsided, but multiple, massive tentacles popped up. Soon, a giant octopus head popped up and was staring at the threesome. Rachel screamed, Ray didn't know how to react, and Phred stared back at the beast.

"Bloobloobloobloop!" This triggered a boss battle, Ray's first. He first attacked the blue ones, which did not damage at all. Phred and Rachel secretly slipped past the tentacles because Ray was fighting and distracting, perfect for escape. Ray didn't notice this either. He kept fighting until he hit the red one and the octopus cried tears of pain.

"Bloobloobloop! BLOOOP!"

"Like I can translate that, you stupid, oversized piece of calamari!" Ray continued to attack after that taunt. After two more stabs to the red tentacle, it cried mercy in its foreign dialect, and then subsided back to the bottom of the gorge. Ray swam to the edge of the gorge and noticed Phred and Rachel sitting on the ground.

"Where the hell did you two go?!"

"We thought it best to leave you be. It was too crowded in there." Rachel stated. Ray didn't buy it and walked over to the pipe. Rachel sighed and followed.

"C'mon, Phred. We've gotta catch up to him." There was no denying what Rachel said was true. He stood up and walked with Rachel, holding her hand, to the pipe sticking out of the wall.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"AIR!" Phred yelled, breaking his chapter long silence.

"And look! There's the star block!" Rachel added.

"And you couldn't talk underwater?" Ray asked to Phred.

"So? I thought you didn't like it when I talked. I was actually treating you. But if you want me to-"

"No. Don't even."

"Well, you seemed concerned so…"

"Guys! Let's end this thing! Besides, correct me if I'm wrong Barry, the tree's next!"

"No, you're right."

"…We'll argue about this later." Ray commanded. With that, Rachel struck the block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Somehow, the Heroes had  
breached the Big Blooper and  
crossed the Tile Pool.**

**But before they could dry,  
they saw the imposing  
silhouette of Fort Francis.**

"**Where's the solar eclipse?"  
Rachel asked in a quiet voice.**

**But when they looked up,  
they realized they were in  
the shadow of a huge tree.**

**Phred, knowing from Rachel's  
jumping up and down, knew this  
was the way to save his friend.**

**And to the Pure Heart…  
But first things first: the  
team needed to scale the tree.**

**

* * *

**

**Wow, boring fluff chapter... but it was somewhat necessary (seeing as you kinda need Thudley).**

**Next week, the trio scales the massive tree and put their platforming skills to the ultimate test! And later, they unexpectedly meet with someone who's been dying to meet them. Who could it be, and what kind of impression does this person make on them?**

**[rant]By the way, I _reeeeeeeeeally_ want to know what you guys think! Are there areas in which I can improve? Do you guys have ideas that I could play with? Let me know what's on your mind! There's that little green button labeled "comment" for a reason... I'm not asking for publicity or "R&R", I'm asking for constructive criticism. Just a thought, and again you don't have to.[/rant]**


	18. Up, Up, and a Tree!

World 3-3: Up, Up, and a Tree!

"C'mon Ray, you're slowing us down!" Phred called down to him at the bottom of the tree after he fell due to carelessness of the Speed Flower Rachel accidentally plucked. "We can't continue without you."

"Just wait! Geez, coulda warned me about those pink things, ya know!" He slowly started his ascent again, carefully platforming his way up to his nemeses and sister. Sooner or later, he finally caught up.

"I swear... this... tree... is gonna be... the death of me..." Ray wheezed, catching his breath from all that climbing.

"Ray, nothing has been the death of you yet…"

Ray, having regained his breath, said, "Shudup, Rachel! You know as well as I do why that's true: because I'm soulless… damn writer."

Both Phred and Rachel knew it was time to change the subject, for Ray had referred to whom he claimed to be 'writing his life.'

"We're not even halfway up yet. Oh, this is gonna be fun…" Phred complained.

A few minutes later, after some careless banter, Ray suggested that they should be getting back to climbing the Dotwood Tree. Everyone agreed, so they continued to climb with Phred's 3-D flipping, Rachel's floating, and Ray doing nothing but following their lead.

However, ten minutes and a mushroom later, Ray finally found a source for his boredom: carving out a heavily vegetated door with his knife.

_**Thirty Minutes Later…**_

"Hurry up, Ray! We've got worlds to save!" Rachel shouted.

"You can't rush perfection…" he said in a calm voice while finishing up the last of his carvings.

"Don- OOF!" Phred and Rachel pushed through him to get through the door.

"F my life…" was Ray's only comment.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Where'd you two lovebirds go?" Ray asked, after entering the inside of the tree. He didn't have to wait for a reply long; he heard a pipe make noise above him. A platform that moved up and down happened to be conveniently available for him to use, so he jumped up on it and waited to jump to the next platform to meet up with Phred and Rachel.

"Ray, you've gotta be patient. This is a really complicated puzzle with switches and different colored platforms and it could take some time to figure out," Rachel exclaimed. Ray cursed silently while Phred jumped over the pink platforms to reach a Dayzee and another switch. He waited for Rachel and Ray before pressing it.

After bashing it to change the color, they carefully timed how they continued so they would not have to wait for a moving platform. Regardless, they had to wait for a different platform. After another set of ups and downs, they finally jumped onto the other platform and made it to a still platform with a wooden pole.

Ray used Thudley to strike the pole, creating a ladder. Phred climbed down it and struck the switch again. He climbed back up to join the other two on a moving platform. They found the new platform and tried to get to the next still platform safely. In the end, Ray got owned by a flower and Rachel took damage to a square enemy.

After their failure of safety, the team recollected themselves and managed to make it to a strangely built platform. Thinking like Tippi, Phred flipped and found a pipe.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"SPIKES!!!" Ray ran into them, but only received one damage again and a stubbed toe.

"THIS GAME SUCKS! I can't even die…" Ignoring Ray, Rachel suggested to Phred to try using Slim. He did, successfully bypassing the pop-up spikes, then struck the switch at the end of the room and returned. They then exited.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Ray succumbed to another flower upon reentering the scene. Rachel took care of it for him. Ray's error caused the team to start to feel the effects of low HP.

"This is our last Shroom Shake, guys." Phred announced, taking out the red can. "We can't die now."

"Gosh Ray, way to go."

"Rachel, I swear to God--"

"Relax, I'm just teasing!" She said as she jumped over to an interesting looking platform. In front of where she stood was a pit with a spike and a switch in an alcove.

Rachel instinctually dropped Boomer onto the spike, thus landing him next to a switch. He blew it up and the platforms changed. They quickly raced up only to find that it was a dead end.

"Well what're we gonna do now?" Rachel whined.

Thinking the answer was in 3-D, Phred flipped only to find a sign directing no one in particular to bomb the switch again.

"Hey Rachel," he started as he flipped back. "D'you mind going back and leaving Boomer there?"

Rachel followed Phred's orders and returned to the platform. She dropped him and let him be as she jumped back to Phred and Ray before he blew up.

"Three, two, one..." counted Ray also using his fingers.

BOOM! The platforms changed yet again and allowed the Heroes to continue on.

Rachel, being the pipe maniac, found a way to get to a very obscurely placed pipe. Ray and Phred simply waited with their backs to each other. Only when the level up screen stating that the maximum HP increased by 5 came up did Phred and Ray know what she was up to. What they didn't expect was to hear her voice from the other room.

"HOW THE HELL DID NINTENDO GET A SCREENSHOT OF ME IN THAT UGLY DRESS FROM THE WEDDING AND PLASTER IT TO A CARD?!?!? I'LL SUE THEM!" Even Ray seemed scared to find Rachel as flustered as she was as she came out of the pipe.

They continued the rest of the trip upward to a different pipe in silence.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Phred, noticing the spikes, told Rachel to A) drag Ray out and B) lend him Boomer. He had a feeling he needed him. Rachel agreed and exited, dragging Ray by his sweatshirt hood.

Phred waited for the moving platform to come back and, once it did, he stepped on and used slim to sneak past the spikes. After doing so successfully, he found a slot in the floor big enough to fit one of those platforms. Logically, he used Boomer and waited to detonate him until after Phred escaped the small room.

Boomer blew up and a platform appeared over the hole. Phred waited for the platform that brought him over and, once on the other side safely again, exited via pipe.

**~*-SPP-*~**

A rumble greeted Phred as he reentered the big room. He tried to locate Ray and Rachel but couldn't because the view from where he stood wasn't great. They fell right past him.

"Hey, wait up!" He said, jumping down.

Once on the ground, Rachel mentioned that they made a door appear. The team then walked over to the pipe where Ray met up with them.

They went up it, saved, and exited the interior to a fate that Ray would enjoy.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Ah ha ha. Finally, you arrive!" A familiar voice only to Phred called out. Everyone looked around, but Phred found the demonic jester that ruined Fractail's life floating in front of them first.

"YOU!" Phred called out.

"You don't wear tardiness well, do you? At any rate, I finally get to meet you more personally. At last, the Heroes… I know you from the festivals of hair upon your heads and your funeral-like companion! I am a humble servant of Count Bleck." He front flipped.

"The Master of Dimensions…  
The Pleaser of Crowds…  
I…  
Am...  
DIMENTIO!"

"Can I say that you're epic? Like, you've gotta be one of the best villains ever!"

Strangely enough, Ray started smiling as he said that.

"Ray, you just met the guy. AND he's the only one of the main guys you've met!" Rachel commented.

"Shut up already!"

"Ahem. I came here to duel, not to observe your insurmountable sibling problems like that of a puppy and kitten living together." Dimentio said, reminding them of his presence.

"I bet you want to make a speech?" Phred asked.

"Oh, no speech for me; I'm hardly politician material."

"I'd vote for you!" Ray said. The magician laughed and thanked him.

"Oh, it truly is quite enchanting to finally meet my hapless victims up close in person!~"

Phred sighed, growing tired of having to wait to beat the clown senseless.

"In fact, I've even prepared a special morsel of a treat for you for this joyous occasion!"

"Bring it, clown!" Rachel cried.

Dimentio snapped his fingers and the trio found themselves in a green world with squiggly lines and straight lines decorating the background.

"How about some… MAGIC!" he said. "Et, voila! You are now in Dimension D, a dimension of my own creation."

"Huh. I never thought green could be so... relaxing." Ray said.

"How did we get here?" asked Phred.

"By magic, of course! By the way, you should note that in this mind-bending realm, my attacks are 256 times more potent!"

"They why do I feel more powerful, too?" he retorted.

"SHUT UP! Don't interrupt him!" Ray defended.

"Thank you for that, my sad, strange little new best friend." Ray blushed. "Back to what I was saying, I could even obliterate you with a raise of an eyebrow! _And now we must duel like two gleaming banjos on a moonlit stoop!~_" He disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the dimension.

"Battle time." Phred told Rachel and Ray- "Ray?"

"NO! I'm not gonna battle him! I refuse."

_So Ray's out of the battle_, thought Phred. _T__his makes things easier…_

Phred ran and jumped up to Dimentio, inflicting pain to the headdress he bore so proudly. He disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room.

"Are you kidding? I can't run that far that quickly!"

"That's why I'm here, Phred." Rachel shouted as she jumped on Dimentio. He disappeared again.

"Why does he keep doing that?!" Phred said, trying to find him.

"So he can avoid you and Rach!"

"So not helping right now, Ray!" Rachel cried over.

Phred eventually found Dimentio, but as Phred was about to land on him, he disappeared.

"Stop doing that!"

Rachel jumped up and landed on the jester before he knew what happened.

"Ugh... I fear that one more hint and I shall have to resort to desperate measures."

That motivation was all Phred needed to sprint, jump, and damage.

"OW! ...Ah ha ha! You battle well, but can you pierce _this_…illusion?" With that, two Dimentios appeared. It took Phred and Rachel awhile to pierce the illusion, but they did, making Ray cringe.

"Oh, dear." Dimentio said as Rachel AND Phred were coming over to hit him.

"C'mon! Get away from them! You can do it!"

"WHO'S SIDE ARE YOU ON?" Rachel yelled, pissed at her brother's attitude. The distraction was time enough for Dimentio to disappear.

Dimentio reappeared duplicated and started to form boxes. Phred started running away, but was encased in one of them; Rachel barely escaped. The jesters then snapped their fingers and the box lit with fire, causing substantial damage to Phred.

"ARRG!"

"Phred!"

"Oh, don't worry, he's not dead. I'm merely hurting him." Said only the real Dimentio. Rachel took notice and locked on to his position.

The box soon disappeared and Phred limped over to Rachel.

Rachel commanded him to sit out. He did so graciously and let Rachel continue the battle. It took a bit of time to actually get to the real Dimentio's height - he never came back down to the ground - so she had to keep waiting for both to conjure up the boxes again.

The second they did, she jumped on top and continued to "ride" them over to Dimentio. He turned around and saw a blur jump and bash his head.

"AHHH!" he screamed as the copy disappeared. "Your blows are like miniature jackhammers wielded by tiny, angry road wokers!" He cried out, falling to the floor.

"Never got that simile before…" thought Rachel out loud.

"Rach... You... Did it!" Phred barely managed to get that out; he was still singed and wheezing.

"But… how? How is this possible? This dimension makes me 256 times more powerful…!" he moaned.

"Well, like Phred was saying before your 'new best friend' interrupted him, we feel powerful too." Dimentio frowned.

"What? …Aha…ha…ha." He stood and cleared his throat, looking as if he had not just been defeated by the Heroes. Floating upward, he said, "Of course! This was simply an amusement that I played out exactly as planned! Were you amused?"

"Yes!"

"Shut up, Ray."

"You know, the next time we meet, you will feast on a deadly eight-course meal!" With that comment, he teleported everyone back to the tree.

"Hey... I'm... fine?" Phred questioned.

"Maybe it's because we're not there anymore?" suggested Rachel.

"Don't dwell upon that frivolous detail." Dimentio said. He then continued, "I'm afraid I must be going... Ciao for now, my fancy-haired foes! Oh, and Ray," Ray looked up, "we need to talk sometime. Here's my number!" Dimentio threw what looked like a business card to Ray. Ray thanked him and then Dimentio left.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Mmm… A little more, perhaps?" Dimentio pondered as he reappeared high in the sky looking down upon the spectacle taking place below.

"They are strong, but they must be stronger yet to defeat Bleck. I _must_ make sure they can face him when the time comes around at last…" He chuckled at what the trio was doing and disappeared still looking at them, pondering.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"No! You're gonna drop it!"

"You are _not_ going to be fraternizing with the enemy, Ray. GIVE IT TO ME!"

"No!"

"RAYMOND!" Rachel screamed. "Give me that paper, or so help me, God…"

"You turn to that 'God' guy at a time like thi- Hey! No… you're not… getti- NO!"

With that last effort, Rachel finally grabbed the business card out of Ray's freezing hands and threw it over the edge. Ray leaned over the edge trying to reach for it. It floated out of his range, so it left him to just stare as it twirled down to the ground.

Conveniently timed rustling of leaves and birds loudly squawking drowned out Ray's loud and drawn-out f-bomb.

Phred just stood there and waited for Ray, but Rachel said to just leave him; she wasn't in the mood for him. So the dating couple sought their way up to the tallest expanse of the giant, 8-bit tree.

After defeating pesky lakitus, they finally found the strange red wind Barry mentioned in chapter 3-1. Rachel, feeling a bit more relaxed, decided to wait for her brother.

Ray finally caught up. "Hey, I'm sorry for earlier." Phred noticed his fingers being crossed behind his back, but accepted the apology anyway. Rachel didn't.

"Oh, it's alright. Just don't do it again."

After a minute of waiting, they finally found suitable red winds and rode them over to a pipe to the far right.

"That must have been the gorge you meant, Barry." He confirmed and then they went down it.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"GROUND!" Rachel exclaimed excitedly.

"And there's Fort Francis!" Phred pointed in the background.

"Oh, look! The business card!"

"RAY!"

"Just kidding. Wow, you actually fell for it?" Rachel fumed up, but Phred calmed her down by hitting the Star Block before she'd do something she'd probably regret.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Phred, Rachel, and Ray  
had scaled the tree and  
defeated Dimentio.**

**The exhausted Heroes were  
relieved to finally see the  
ivory towers of Fort Francis.**

**Was Tippi safe? Was the  
next Pure Heart really  
waiting for them ahead?**

**Their only answers were the  
strange voices carried on the  
wind from inside the fort…**

**

* * *

**

**So next week is storm the castle week! Yay! What kind of torture is Francis inflicting on poor Tippi? Hopefully, she's just in a cage on a pedestal. Don't worry Tipps, they're coming to save you! ...next week.**


	19. Storming the Castle

**Early chapter FTW! I'm possibly off to Las Vegas for the weekend to see relatives because it'll be their 45th wedding anniversary this weekend. Yay long term relations! And if I do go, they only have wirefull Internet instead of wireless; I wouldn't want to hog their computer this trip (I've done that in the past...) but actually spend time with my grandparents.**

**Plus there'd be a very high low chance I'll be seeing _Alice in Wonderland_ with them! :D**

* * *

World 3-4 Part I: Storming the Castle

"So this is where that dweeb Francis lives?" Rachel asked even though she knew the answer.

"Y'know, for a geek fortress, this is actually a decent castle." Ray commented.

"I'm actually starting to worry for Tippi… Think she's alright?" She turned to Phred for a response.

"I hope so."

**~*-SPP-*~**

A pink room with an oddly shaped double door. To the far right stood the geek/nerd/dweeb/(insert demeaning adjective here) chameleon, Francis, taking pictures of Tippi. She was in a cage. With every snap of the shutter, his eyes sparkled.

"Nerrrrr herrr herrrr herrrrrr! This is so hi-technicaaaaaaal!"

Snap.

"It's a totally undiscovered digibutterfly species! Nerr! I must document it!"

Snap. Tippi whispered Phred's name.

"Yesssss! Shake that thorax! _The forum guys will be SOOO jealous when I post these shots online!!_"

Snap.

"Phred… Rachel… even Ray if you're there… where are you?" Tippi whispered again.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"What does the plaque say?" Rachel asked Ray.

"'No entry unless you are a supergenius like me or a totally hot babe. STAY OUT!'" he quoted.

"Wow. He's a sad, mental case. So how do we get in then?"

"Maybe Phred should try that flippy thing. Maybe there's something hidden." Ray suggested.

"I'll try." He vanished, and then came back. "There's a pipe! C'mon." He grabbed Rachel who, in turn, grabbed Ray. They found the pipe and fell through its hole.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Why does Nintendo keep giving us these random Thoreau puzzles?" Phred asked as he hit the switch by the ceiling. The switch disappeared and rendered a chest with key that would unlock Francis' ultra-nerd lair.

The team headed back up the pipe and unlocked the castle doors.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Awwwww! For a nerd, he's got adorable cats!" Rachel commented.

"Rachel, he probably built them because he was lonely. Or he could be, oh I don't know, _obsessed_ with cats? Anime seems popular to nerds and most anime shows have cats—"

"Enough Ray!" Phred shouted. Ray didn't say anything else.

"So what do we do? Should we go through the door?" Asked Rachel, breaking the short silence.

"No... Not yet at least. I think there's something vital behind the door."

"Then we should go through it like Rachel wants to."

"Not behind it… _behind_ it."

"Are you being a complete idiot or am I missing something?"

"Just follow me." Phred said sternly, grabbing Rachel and Ray. He flipped into 3-D and jumped behind the door.

"This is what I mean by behind."

"Oh. Well, how the hell was I supposed to know?!"

Phred didn't want to respond and Rachel didn't think about doing so; she was in her own little world. She snapped out when she saw the pipe.

"Pipe! I call going down it first!" She leaped onto it and proceeded down. The boys followed.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Told you his cats weren't all good." Ray told Rachel after he defeated three cats that attempted to attack the trio.

"Thank's Ray." He didn't respond.

Phred looked around at the gray colored walls of the dungeon. Thinking aloud, he said, "I wonder if he even knows about this room."

"What makes you think that?" Rachel asked.

"Well," he said. "I just can't imagine a geek like him actually using a room like this."

"I gotta agree with you. I mean, who'd use a room with a broken pipe?" Asked Rachel, who stood on top of said pipe.

"Well, I like this room." Ray said.

"We all can imagine why." Phred joked.

"I'm going ahead." announced Ray. He walked off, passing Rachel on the useless pipe. He jumped up onto a flip block and disappeared out of sight.

"What's got him?" Rachel asked.

"Beats me… but we gotta follow him. Besides, we've the rest of this dungeon to look at." So they followed the same route Ray traveled.

Phred noticed, atop the platform, a note with codes. It said something about a left room having 2828 and a right room having 2323. He kept that in mind.

The ledge ended and there was no way of getting back: spikes prevented them from escaping. Ray was standing on top of an oversized switch next to a jail cell with a Pixl inside.

"You guys bring Thudley?" Ray asked.

Phred brought him forth. Using him caused the switch to depress, releasing the trapped Pixl from its iron cage.

"FREEDOM!" It gleefully shouted to the heavens. The female box-like Pixl floated up and continued to praise the team (mostly Ray, who responded that it was nothing).

"I've been shut up in here forever… You'll never catch me in there again. I must repay all of you! I'm at your service. I'm sure you can find a use for my talent!"

"Me too- OW!" The cause of Ray's pain: Rachel elbowing him.

"But… before we get all friendly, we should see if we're on the same page……"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Pick 'awesome' and see if she still goes with you." Suggested the king. Emiloy, for some reason or another, took her husband's advice. Probably out of boredom.

"Next question," started Dick, "Is there anything else about him that caught your eye? I'd go with the last one, for kicks and giggles." Emiloy selected what her enemy wanted, out of boredom again.

"Hey! Last question: what do you think about him?" Danile read.

"We've picked the last one for everyone… I'll pick the last one for this." She moved the cursor and pressed the two button.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"You think Francis is an awesome irresistible guy? Basically a stallion?"

"NO! No one thinks that!" _Mom! Yo-_

"Well, imagine that! We feed on the same wavelength! Talk about cool! We've got great harmony."

Everyone: o.o?

"Yep! I like him too! _We,_ though, are a different story. We're gonna work so well together, nothing can touch us!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

**CARRIE, THE HOVERING-PLATFORM PIXL, HAS JOINED YOUR PARTY!**

**When you are riding Carrie, you'll move faster and can breeze over spiked floors.**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"With me, you can get places in a hurry! Go ahead, give me a spin!" Carrie pleaded.

"Not only will I give you that, but I'm gonna use you the entire rest of the game!"

"First, get us over those spikes… then she's all yours unless we find more spikes." Bargained Rachel.

"Fine." He said, rolling his eyes.

He ferried everyone over the spikes and made them get off his soul-Pixl as soon as they reached safety. The team went back up the pipe that lead them down there in the first place, saved in the room above, then entered the door that Phred and Ray still argued over.

**~*-SPP-*~**

In this room, Ray and Rachel found themselves attracted to a keyhole that allowed them to see Francis musing over how he could 'make wall-sized-mural posters and how his camera uses the latest in high quality graphics' and how he could 'take pictures of planets from the earth' and how he could 'capture all 22 quadrillion colors in Tippi's wings.'

Phred found a second keyhole that allowed him to view Tippi. She looked unhealthily sad... almost in a state of Ray.

"We gotta go and rescue her. We're wasting time." Phred mumbled to his cohorts. They heard him and walked over to a door on the other side of the large and long room.

**~*-SPP-*~**

This room had no other door. Phred thought to flip over to 3-D with his friends. It worked, for he found stairs leading to the next floor. They stayed in 3-D; a wise decision on their part, for a giant cat that freaked Rachel out (it shot smaller cats from a cannon) guarded the door. They easily bypassed it and entered the next door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"I'll be honest with you, these cat's are starting to piss me off."

"Wow, never thought I'd see the day when Rachel Brekon hated an animal." Phred semi-consciously stated. Rachel didn't hear him; she was using Thudley to coerce a door hanging from the ceiling to fall. The gang entered this door to the right of another hanging door that they'd come back for.

**~*-SPP-*~**

They came into a yellow room that looked more formal than geeky. They also found a green cat that resembled the role of Nastasia. Phred warily walked over to it and it started to speak.

"You have reached the door to Master's super-secret lair."

"What door?" Ray asked.

"Only Master is allowed inside. You must confirm your identity for security purposes." Phred gulped. "To confirm your identity, answer 'true' or 'false' to the following statements."

"Starship X-Naut" comics are never to be removed from their plastic covers.  
_Uh... True?_

Role-playing games should be no less than 180 hours long, not counting side quests.  
_Sure_

Fanny packs are both practical and stylish.  
_True ("But they're also touristy…")_

Please enter the secret passcode.  
_I think it was 2323_

"Welcome home, Master! Master's fantasy fortress is safe from intruders." When she said that, a green screen with an 8-bit kitty-cat face appeared. It meowed, scaring Rachel even more. It disappeared and revealed a door to an elevator.

Once off the elevator, they entered a room decked out in anime posters with characters from other Paper Mario games all the way up to the ceiling, bookshelves full of comic books, a ? block with a Super Shroom in it, and a giant cat that did nothing but pace the room. A treasure chest lay on the highest shelf; it stood just out of reach of Phred, Rachel, and Ray's jump.

"Maybe we should try jumping off the cat." Rachel suggested. Phred tried it; it worked. He triumphantly held up a key that goes to a lock down in the first part of the lair to Rachel and Ray (who was snacking on the Super Shroom).

They headed back to the room with the hinged door and three more cats that attacked.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Is this another kitten cannon room?" Ray asked.

"Sure seems like it." Phred answered.

"Thinking about this kinda makes me wanna play that when we get out..." Rachel bit Ray on his arm for saying such a thing (A/N: If you played it, you'd know why).

"Agh! What the f**k was that for?!?!"

"Guys, focus!" Phred yelled over Ray.

"But… But… she bit me!"

"Oh, go slit yourself! And while you're doing that, Rachel and I will be in 3-D, so unless you man up for a minute, you're not coming with us! Am I clear?!"

"…as clear as the word crystal goes with the word meth…"

"Then come on! Let's not wait for the grass to grow, now." Phred said, jumping up to an invisible-in-2-D platform and waited for Ray and Rachel to get the hint to follow him. He told Rachel that they'd need to use her parasol to get to the other invisible-in-2-D platform. She jumped up and carried everyone across.

Phred flipped into 3-D at that time and started to climb the stairs with his friends. They avoided the kitten cannon cat again.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Fresh air! No more stench of nerd!" Rachel proclaimed.

Phred concentrated on the Thoreau puzzle and decided to use a flying cat. It eliminated the switch… but not the cat. Luckily, a cut scene emerged and the cat did no damage to Phred. A bridge was brought to existence.

"Finally! Let's go and get that next key."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"…Answer the following statements with 'true' or 'false'." Everyone nodded and sighed.

Video game soundtracks are totally hi-technicaaaaaaal!  
_Uh-huh_

Episode 127 of "The Grodus Chronicles" is pretty much the schweetest thing ever.  
_True_

One day, I will own all of the "Starship X-Naut" Series 3 collectible action figures.  
_True ("They're dolls, dude…" Ray said.)_

Now you must enter the passcode.  
_2828_

"Welcome home, Master! SecuriMeow missed you!"

The entire room then proceeded to go under a diagnostics check. First, forty different colored squares flashed about. Next, a series of lines drew themselves on the green screen wall. After, the same kitty cat face that freaked Rachel out meowed and revealed a door to a similar room.

This room looked like the one with posters, but this room had dolls, videocassette tapes, books (actual books!) and one or two posters with Princess Peach on them. Phred did exactly what he did in the other room like it; he grabbed the key and exited back to Francis's room.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Once back at Francis' room, Phred wasted no time in putting a key in the left slot. It was the right one that he hesitated on. He knew he was only being silly; he was just so worried about seeing Tippi trapped in the wire cage. He was also afraid at what would happen when Francis realized that he and his party were trying to take back their friend.

"Oh, just give me the key!" Rachel said as she yanked it out of Phred's hand. She stepped forward and put it in.

With both keys inserted, the cat face above them all animated and started talking.

"MEEEOOOOOOW! Both keys confirmed, meow!" They all breathed a relaxed breath upon hearing that.

"Wait a meow moment." She commanded. It didn't look like she was observing them, but she confirmed she did when she started yelling, "You look nothing like the Master! _Only Master Francis and 'totally hot babes' are allowed to enter!_ All others will get the kitty lasers."

"The 'kitty lasers'?" Phred asked. "Honestly?"

At that moment, the eyes of the cat face started glowing with energy.

"Oh, shi—" But Ray didn't have time to finish. Everyone jumped on Carrie (aside from Ray who was still using her) and ran away from the kitty lasers. They fled to the room where the pipe was.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"What was _that_?!" Ray angrily shouted to Phred.

"_That_ was not knowing what would happen! And I assume you would've known that would happen?"

"Of course not!" Said Ray as he sat on the pacing cat maid. "But to just go ahead and do something as idiotic as assume we know you have a plan that you probably don't even know is pompous, arrogant, and just… YOU."

"And that's coming from a guy who hates me for no reason."

"I _do_ have a reason. In fact I'm adding this to the list!"

"...you have a list?"

Y'know what? Just shut up! Just be glad Rach--" He stopped a moment and thought.

"Wait… Rachel, you're a hot babe, right?" Ray asked, turning to his sister, changing the subject.

"Finally noticed I'm a girl, have you? I thought you would have by now."

"No! I mean, yes I knew you were a girl. But no as in 'that's not what I mean'."

"What _do_ you mean?" Phred asked.

"I mean this: we need to send your girlfriend, my sister, Rachel, behind enemy lines so we can get in too."

"…oh... I get it. That's… that's… that's ingenious and… stupid." Rachel said.

"Regrettably, I agree with Ray. You are the only girl in the party – at least until Ieda – and Francis only lets himself and 'totally hot babes' in. Which you are, so we gotta send you."

"Ray, don't make me do this…"

"Don't look at me! I'm the one that came up with this. Besides, you're the older of the two of us… need I remind you."

"…Phred?"

"Sorry, we must. It's for Tipps." He sighed.

Rachel walked over to Phred and clung to him in a hug. She started crying in her arms. Phred shushed her and comforted her with empty words like 'it's going to be fine' and 'what could possibly happen' and 'we need you'. Rachel sniffled and then told Phred that she'd do it.

"But if that freak kisses me, I'll overlook one cut to you from Ray."

Phred twitched; Ray smiled.

* * *

**It's not as good as some of the previous chapters, but not as bad either!**

**Yay for Ray finding his Soul Pixl! Now he doesn't have to walk for the rest of the game. Lazy of him, but oh well.**

**Next week is the big fight! It's Rach vs. "Nerr!" with a twist! Poor her... and Tippi who'll have to witness that. Will both survive? (Likely to be posted Tuesday)**


	20. The Battle of Fort Francis

**You know what? I feel like posting today instead of tomorrow in honor of Phred's birthday today.  
One more thing: "Beware the Ides of March!"**

* * *

World 3-4 Part II: The "Battle" of Fort Francis

Rachel casually walked alone over to the cat face and tried to enter Francis' room. Again, the cat face became animated and started to question Rachel. The cat repeated its comment on who can enter. Then…

"You can enter. After I check to see if you're compatible with Master Francis, that is. Please answer the following questions with 'true' or 'false'… meow!" Rachel nodded.

**=3**

Video games and hot babes are totally hi-technicaaaaal!  
_True_

If it's limited edition, buy it!  
_True_

I have bought games I have never played.  
_True ("Everyone does that… that's why you buy them… For a nerd, you're really stupid.")_

If it's got fierce giant robot on giant robot combat, it's an insta-buy!  
_True ("A what?")_

They're NOT DOLLS. They're ACTION FIGURES, WITH _REAL_ FIRE PUNCHING ACTION!  
_True ("Whatever helps you sleep at night, weird-o…")_

I have dumped a friend over an argument about "Starship X-Naut" propulsion technology.  
_True_

A schweet cover illustration is way more important than the story line.  
_True ("Haven't you ever heard 'don't judge a book buy its cover'?!")_

Never pull the top copy from a pile of comics! Find the mint-condition one!  
_True_

My first love was an anime character!  
_True ("I know SOO many of those people… no! NO! GET OUT OF MY MIND, YOU FREAKY PERV!!!")_

I love going on message boards and complaining about the games I've never played.  
_True ("You need a life.")_

**=3**

"MRRROOOOW!" Then the unthinkable happened: Rachel hated cats altogether. A door formed from its mouth, making Rachel cringe because it grossed her out. Nevertheless, she walked through the door, knowing it was for Tippi.

...

Phred and Ray peeked their heads through the door Rachel came through to get back in the room. When they saw her close the door, they knew what to do. They walked over by the newly formed door and waited for the signal.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Nerrrrr! Who are YOU?!" Francis asked shockingly.

"You'd be surprised how often I get asked that, beef cake." Francis sweat dropped.

"Wh-what are y-you doing sneaking into m-my p-p-p-p-p-private room, huh? E-ever h-h-heard of p-p-p-privac-c-cy?"

"Oh, don't be shy. I've been looking… all _over_ for you… _Francis_." Rachel faked in a sexy and condescending voice.

"FOR… ME?" he gasped. "O-o-oh… O-oh my gosh… It's… it's a h-hot babe…" He started to sweat frantically and he started seizing. "HOT BABE IN ROOM!" He turned away from Rachel and started to talk to himself.

"Francis? What's the matter, big boy? Ever met a hot babe in person before?" She continued the façade. He didn't hear her over his musings. He then brought forth his laptop from his fanny pack and logged into a chatroom.

"Booting up! Activating Nerr2Babe interface mod with real-time wooing!" A curtain fell over the entire screen.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"For the love of God and all things holy, why is my Rachel with that freakazoid?" Danile complained from the comfortable viewing spot of the kitchen.

"I don't know, but all that pink is distracting." Dick criticized.

"Hush, you two, I'm picking responses! How should I respond with Rachel's name? ...I know!"

"If you are going to ask someone's name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Rachel said on the television, keeping her fake interest in Francis.

"So she goes to the first guy to own a castle?!" Danile shouted to the television screen. Rachel, hearing this, rolled her eyes.

Francis started talking again.

"Ooo, he thinks she's from a video game. That's a compliment she'll keep." Dick added.

"Shhhh! Time to pick… how about 'You're making me blush!'?"

"You're quite the sweet talker, Francis."

"Bleh… it sickens me that she dumped Phred and went for a reptile. The nerve!" Again, Rachel rolled her eyes at her father.

"Shush! He's picking! …A poster? Wow. He could've given that other thing…"

"Let's see… what to say, what to say. I know! A thank you always works."

"Thank you, Francis!" Francis droned on about how he bought it instead of a CD and how ultra-rare this was and blah blah blah gold foil blah blah blah.

"...Uh, cool. That's erm… fun?" Her charade was going downhill fast and she knew it. She politely returned the poster to him.

Then the unexpected, the unthinkable, the worst thing happened.

"_**MARRIAGE?!?!**_ RACHEL ASHLIE BREKON, YOU ARE NOT TO MARRY THAT… THAT… THAT _THING_!" What worried Danile more was that none of the choices were rejections. He then dashed from the kitchen, swiped the Wii Remote out of Emiloy's hands and chose the closest choice to a rejection.

"So how much do you make?" She asked.

That's when she snapped.

"…ugh, I can't TAKE IT ANYMORE!!! MOM AND DAD! SAVE ME! Use my bomb! QUICK!" While Francis looked dumbstruck as to her reply, Danile gave the remote back to Emiloy, who looked for Boomer. She succeeded and pressed the two button. Francis screamed in fear for his program.

"Nice graphics." Dick said, commenting on the explosion.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Francis lay on the floor while Ray and Phred ran into the room to aid Rachel. Phred ran to Rachel (forgetting Tippi was in the room) and hugged her. Ray stepped over Francis and stood next to Tippi.

"What happened? That wasn't the signal!" Ray said.

"Sorry... last minute change. I'll explain later."

"Well thank God you're all right." Phred said. It was then that Francis regained consciousness.

"Ow, my head... That was the only know copy of the Nerr2Babe patch, and now it's gone forever!" He started crying pools of tears. "Real babes are scary!"

"You obviously haven't met me, then." Ray commented.

"You… you're Ray, right?" Tippi asked, turning to him.

"Yeah, Tipps, that's Ray." Phred answered as he looked over. It dawned on him that Tippi was safe. "…wait, you're okay!"

"You… all of you came to save me? Oh, my gosh…"

Francis eventually stopped his waterworks and caught wind of the conversation.

"So… So you've come to raid my fort and steal… _**FRANCINE?**_" All the teens stared at him blankly. No! I-I won't let you. Not even that scary guy in the back that looks hungry for blood!" he had realized what he just said.

"…OH MY GOSH! This is _NOT_ hi-technicaaaaaaaal! EDWARD CULLEN IS IN MY ROOM AND HE WANTS TO KILL ME!!! NERRRRRRRRR! RUN AWAY!!!" Francis forgot all about Tippi and ran from the room. No battle took place.

"…First reference to me being Edward…" Ray said.

"You're nothing like him. You don't even remotely look the part." Rachel said.

No one but Phred noticed that Tippi no longer was encased in her cage. She floated over to the team.

"Phred, Rachel, and Ray… you guys came to save me? …………Th-Thank you. Thank you very much… I-I just can't stop… I promised I wouldn't cry… Oh, thank you, you guys! My heart can't stop racing with all the excitement… OH!" Somehow, and none knows how (and the only one who does is in Flipside…), Tippi produced the fourth, green Pure Heart.

"What's that heart thing that looks like the big, black one?" Ray asked (he still didn't know anything about the Pure Hearts).

"Tippi… you... you had a Pure Heart? But… how?" Tippi asked the same question.

"Maybe," Rachel suggested, "Tippi's heart just burst with happiness and released a Pure Heart. Or… well, it doesn't matter. We have it and now we can leave this weird castle!"

"Phred… I was just so happy when I saw that you'd come to save me. Please… Take it."

"Can I afford to say no?" Phred asked her jokingly.

He grabbed the floating green heart and the Pixls performed their funny dance again. Everyone (...well, not Ray) was tearing up to much to watch them though.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**YOU GOT A PURE HEART!!!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

**The fourth Pure Heart  
appeared in a dazzling  
flash of mysterious light.**

**What made it appear? The  
group was puzzled by this  
and many other riddles.**

"…**So you're not hurt?" asked  
Tippi, full of concern.**

**Somehow, Tippi seemed  
different than before. She  
had started to change.**

**Phred simply shook his head  
and started the long journey  
back to Flipside…**

**

* * *

**

**I totally cheated all of you out. I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you later... much later, but I still will make it up to all of you.**

**Our Heroes have half the Purity Heart! I bet Bleck is shaking in his monocle at this moment. I wonder what he's up to right now... We'll find out Saturday, I guess!**


	21. Meaningful Conversations

**Sorry this is late! Unexpected family visit and I just got SoulSilver! :D I'm a die heart Lugia fan; don't judge me!  
So anyway, here you go!**  


* * *

_**SOMEWHERE IN CASTLE BLECK…**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"…and that is how the ruffians managed to best me." Dimentio concluded in front of everyone, including the Dark Prognosticus.

"Ah ha ha. They are strong, to be sure… very strong. Dare I say," he went on, "They may be strong enough to defy the prophecy!" At that, Count Bleck spat.

"Spare Count Bleck your theatrics. The Light Prognosticus is **false**. Especially when the Dark Prognosticus holds the key to eliminating Heroes that rise to stop us. Na-"

"Oh my! That's the first time that morsel of information has touched my ears. Do tell!" An overly eager Dimentio inquired of the count.

"All in due time, Dimentio. Bleh heh heh heh heh. Now, Nastasia, the time is nigh to set 'her' on these pests."

"Yeah, um, I can take care of that for you, Count."

"Lovely, exclaimed Count Bleck. Return to your posts, my minions!" They all shouted the same reply and left in their stylistic manner. Nastasia stayed behind and sighed.

"Does something trouble you, Nastasia?" The count asked.

"Yeah, Count… You know, there's still time… You can still change your mind. Yo-"

"That is enough, Nastasia. We've already come this far, so we shall forge on! …But you needn't stay by Count Bleck's side. You can depart with my blessing…"

"NO! …I mean, um, no, my count. I won't be doing that. My life is already sworn to you. Yeah, it belonged to you since the day you saved me. I'll be sticking by your side until my game ends, 'K?" Count Bleck paused a moment. He then responded with, "If that pleases you…"

He left, she walked off, Dimentio spoke.

"My my _my_! How interesting! Nastasia and the count have such _deep_ conversations!" He appeared in the room and resumed his conversation with himself. "Mm… Just what is our dear count playing at? Ah, well, I'll let them worry about that, I must attend to my own… projects." With that, he finally left.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**Timpani, why? Why do you  
avoid me?"**

"**Ow… OW! Unhand me!"**

"**Huh? You're crying! Why?  
Timpani, you must tell me  
what has happened!"**

"**It's nothing… Don't worry  
about it… Just forget it…"**

"**Oh no… Timpani, is my  
father behind this?"**

"**I'm… I'm just an ordinary  
girl. No matter how much I  
love you, we must part."**

"**Timpani… I…"**

"**This is good-bye, Blumiere.  
There's no other choice.  
This… is… our fate…"**


	22. True Friends

**This one's early for three reasons: 1) I'm guiltful for being late today; 2) the last chapter was short; 3) this one is short-ish.**  


* * *

"…Wait, so you're _not_ a symbol of the gay community?" Ray finished as the party walked back through the yellow door. Everyone groaned and face palmed.

"That's what we've been telling you this whole time!" Phred said annoyed.

"Let it go, Phred... We don't want things getting too weird..." persuaded Tippi.

"Speaking of which," started Rachel, "that last chapter was… a little weird for a while, but we seem to have gotten through it OK."

"I'm so sorry… It was all my fault…" Tippi apologized. Everyone said that it wasn't her fault, but she didn't quite believe them.

"Thank you so much… I can't seem to stop thanking you… Tee hee…" Phred and Rachel said it was fine; Ray told her to stay out of his face and he'd be fine too.

"…Phred, come to think of it, do you think Ray is the third Hero?" Rachel asked. He turned to her and contemplated for a minute the validity of this statement… but for only a minute, because Merlon came up to congratulate the crew again.

"Ho there! I have been waiting for you young Heroes!" He said as he approached Tippi and her companions. "Did you succeed in your search for the next Pure Heart?" Phred almost responded, but Tippi interrupted.

"I guess we did…"

"Of course we did after we rescued you from that fortress! I mean, yeah, it just appeared but—"

"Intriguing…" interrupted Merlon, "So then… when you saved Tippi, the next Pure Heart just... appeared?" The wise wizard closed his eyes in thought. "Mmm… How very interesting…"

"Sorry, sir, but what's interesting?" Rachel asked.

"I'm thinking that that castle was once a dwelling of the Ancients I told you of earlier."

"Ancients?" Ray asked.

"His relatives…" Rachel whispered. Ray nodded in understanding.

"It seems that my ancestors have roamed far and wide in their dimensional travels… In fact, there's a quote I must reiterate to you: 'In the castle beyond the great sea, we hid a Pure Heart and sealed it safely…'"

"That's the quote?"

"Yes, I remember reading such a passage in the Light Prognosticus, for I read the seal could only have been broken by a powerful pulse of love and trust."

"Well, now I'm glad Tippi was butterfly-napped by that geek." Phred mumbled.

"So you think," Rachel started to ask, "it was because Tippi began to trust us that we found the Pure Heart? Huh… love _is_ powerful."

"And if I count correctly," Merlon said, changing the subject quite abruptly, "there are three Heroes! Ho ho! I haven't a guess as to who the last one is, but waste no time in searching, my friends!"

"I think I have a pretty good idea as to who the fourth Hero is…" Ray said, thinking of his girlfriend.

"Oh? And who would this be, Mr. Ray?" But before he could answer, the violent, violet Void grew in size once more.

"Oh ho… it seems The Void has expanded once more. Time grows short!"

"That grey thing in the sky? It looks awesome."

Rachel reminded him of his rare color-blindness.

"We have to keep going… We must start looking for the next Heart Pillar…" Tippi concluded.

"There are matters I must attend to as well, for there may be another hint in that old, musty tome. By your leave, everyone." With that, he darted off to his house. Everyone wasn't far behind him, for they had to head down the elevator anyway.

**~*-SPP-*~**

On the outskirts of town, Phred theorized that the next one would be to the left seeing as every other Heart Pillar was found to the right. Everyone agreed to his logic and started to think about the pole puzzle that lay next to a conveniently empty space reserved for a tall pillar like statue.

"Maybe there's a hint in 3-D…" Tippi thought. Phred looked and -- what do you know? -- there was. Arrows were carved into the sides of the poles. He flipped back and told someone to ground-pound the one fourth from the right. It went up. Then he figured, since Nintendo is all about patterns, to hit the farthest from the right into the ground.

Once a force in the dimensional pocket world recognized that the correct sequence was discovered, it drew the fourth Heart Pillar. A green shading decorated the base of the marble statue.

Phred let Ray place the heart into the pillar and watched him be astounded by the intricate green clockwork lines that covered the screen.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Next to the yellow dimensional door, the tower drew from the floor a fourth door. This outline filled with a calming, pure color of green. The detailed design exacted the look of the other three.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Back at the tower, the group couldn't wait any longer to go through and see what lay ahead. They would soon find, however, that their next environment would be extremely difficult…

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Through the awkward fleeing  
of Francis, Tippi and  
the Phred gang grew closer.**

**Behind a fourth door lay  
a whole new world that  
beckoned to them all.**

**What awaited was vaster  
and stranger than anything  
Tippi encountered so far…**

**The environment would  
ring bells to the three  
human adolescents.**

**In order to claim the Pure  
Heart, they would have to  
endure new, far-out trials…**


	23. Every Kid's Dream

A galaxy of stars popped onto the blank canvas. First one star appeared, then three, then thousands until the last gap of white was covered. Soon after, the door appeared and the gang found themselves in the most far-out destination in the universe: Outer Space.

Tippi was the first to comment on the strange surroundings.

"Mmm, stars everywhere… I believe we're in outer space, almost certainly…"

"You think?" Ray asked cockily, rendering unfazed by the lack of oxygen. The other two, however, started turning a shade of blue. Tippi questioned their brash brandishing.

"What troubles you two? …Wait, we seem to be lacking air… You need that don't you? Well, if you two are affected, why is Ray not?"

"Lack of a soul. Can't die." The emotionally turmoiled rebel responded.

"Well you stay here while I reach into Phred's pocket and grab the Return Pipe… Oh, I hope this works…" She used the Return Pipe but to no avail. This was one region of the dimensions where the striped pipe didn't work.

"Oh… gracious me… What am I to do?" She started hyperventilating. Ray didn't have an answer for her, but one soon came to her.

"NOOOOO!" At that instant, she, Ray's sister and rival, and all the Pixls teleported somehow, leaving Ray out in the cold expanse. Alone.

"I'll just… stay here then." Ray said before the camera returned focus to the other two Heroes back on the Flipside Tower.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Oh, please _please_ wake up…" Tippi begged. Without a struggle, the couple returned to their feet.

"Oh, thank goodness… You're all right, aren't you? Oh, thank goodness…"

"You're repeating yourself, Tipps." Rachel commented.

"I don't really know how I got… er, most of us back… It just sort of happened…"

"Speaking of most, where's Ray?" Phred asked.

"Back in space… But don't worry; he said he could handle it… I think he mentioned he lacked a soul…" Phred and Rachel didn't seem surprised.

"Anyway, you two won't last long there as we are… Perhaps we should ask Merlon for advice."

The two hesitantly agreed and headed to the aquamarine house.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Upon entering, Merlon congratulated the **two** on their job well done on attaining another Pure Heart so quickly. Then he noticed there were only **two**.

"Where's the one clad in black and scratches?"

"That's what we're here about… See, our next destination is space."

"_SPACE?!_ Oh ho, I imagine THAT was an unwelcoming surprise!"

"No duh, Sherlock." Rachel muttered under her breath.

"Yes…" Tippi continued, "There was no air, so the present Heroes could not breath. The other one is still out there, for he can tolerate such extremities." Merlon lost his expression of interest, for Tippi answered his unasked question.

"Well… I think I have a solution for at most one of you two. I saw this trick on television one time in my youth."

"When dinosaurs roamed?" Rachel whispered again.

Merlon searched the bookshelf behind him for an object, mumbling and grunting as he shifted books and urns. He stopped and looked up. Phred figured he didn't find whatever it was he was looking for, but wanted to make sure that was the case.

"Well?" he asked.

"Erm, you see, I _had_ the perfect item, but I was spring cleaning and I think I gave it away to someone in town."

"TO WHO?!" Everyone, including Tippi, yelled.

"Some random boy… It seemed more convenient than recycling it. Nevertheless, you must find this boy and explain the situation." He turned back to the shelf to double check he did indeed give it away. He didn't hear the door open and close as the party exited to find the boy. But they exited too early; Merlon found a fishbowl.

"I didn't know I had a second one… You- oh, you already left."

**~*SPP-*~**

After intensive searching all over town, the trio finally found the boy near the middle of Flipside Tower on the third floor. He was standing around, watching an oversized fish swimming in a tiny fish bowl that looked the perfect size for Rachel's head.

"Hi, little boy!" Rachel greeted.

"Hullo!" he cheerfully responded.

"Did an old man named Merlon give you something like a helmet?" Phred asked.

"Did Merlon give me somethin' like a helmet? Oh, you means this fishbowl?"

"…Sure. We'll go with that."

"Yeah, I kepted Captain Gills here in a cup, but then he gots too big for it. Yeah, that's why I gots really happy when I gots this fishbowl! …but now the captain gots so big, the BOWL gots too small for him!"

"Bummer."

"But I's been thinking and I thinks I remember that there's a place with lotsa water! Maybe you could find a nice place to sets Captain Gills free for me!"

"Um…of course we can." Rachel chimed in. The boy then grabbed the bowl with his hands (yes, those people do have hands) and handed it to Phred.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**You got a Goldfish Bowl!  
You can't use this yet! Find a place to release the fish!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Bye-bye, Captain Gills!" They heard him calling after them as they entered the elevator. Phred started to think about where they had seen a pool of water in Flipside in the elevator. Rachel thought of it for him.

"What about near that bar? What was it called again? Something where."

"The Underwhere?" Tippi blurted.

"Yeah! We should head there."

"Yes… that's an excellent place… We must head there."

The elevator came to a halt and the team got off. Phred saved and caught up to his friends as they were getting on the elevator down.

Minutes later, they arrived at the spot. Phred put the bowl down and stood there waiting for something to happen.

"C'mon, it's just a fish! Release it already!" shouted Rachel

"I can't! I think Emiloy needs to select 'yes' so I can or something…" Just as he said that, the fish jumped out. A message appeared on screen saying that they could now use the bowl as a helmet.

"Guys… I have a feeling Merlon wants us to return to his house…" Groaning, they all returned to Merlon's house.

_**Minutes Later…**_

"What now?" Phred asked uptight.

"While you three left, I came across another fishbowl! This looks perfect for you head, Phred. By the way, the one in Rachel's arm is quite fashionable, if I may say so."

"You may not. But thanks anyway."

"Well, now that you both have helmets, you must return to the door urgently! I expect your friend is getting anxious for your return."

"Yeah, we better go. C'mon Rachel; Tippi." Without a good-bye, they exited the house and reentered the green door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"It's about time! Put the helmets on before you suffocate again." They obeyed for their own good and not Ray's.

"Well, can you two breath now?" They said yes. "Very well… let's go then! The Pure Heart must be somewhere in this sea of stars…"

"Hold that thought!" Rachel interrupted. "Does anyone else hear like, a pinging sound?"

"Are your ears ringing or are you mad?"

"Come to think of it," Tippi started, "I do. How about you, Ray?"

"No."

"Phred?"

"Er, it's kinda hard to say. I think... kinda?"

"Then I guess we need to go find out what that is..." Tippi suggested.

"Typical" Ray muttered.

They diligently searched for ten minutes, relaying to each other if they had found anything. They eventually did find something glittering ("Ooo! Shiny, sparkly thing!" Rachel called out).

Emiloy used Tippi off-screen to unveil the true origin of the sparkly, shiny thing. Lo and behold, a green spaceship was sending out an SOS. The hatch opened and revealed a small green alien.

"Squeeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuurp…" it mumbled while jumping around. "Squirple squeeple squinks! 'Morning, SQUIRP!"

"Um… who are you?" Ray cautiously asked, remembering his last encounter with aliens over the Spring Break.

"You're the ones looking for the Pure Heart, squirple? Hm! Cuter than I thought!" he added a heart to the end of that, making the situation more awkward; the gang couldn't tell to whom he was talking. Tippi put this aside and started interrogating the alien.

"How do you know about the Pure Heart? ...And about us? Are you allied with Count Bleck? I DEMAND ANSWERS!"

"Noooooo! No scary faces ('specially the really pale one)! You can call me Squirps! I'm your captain, squooork! And if you want the Pure Heart, we need to work together, squoop!"

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"Squirps can't tell much now, but you **must** trust Squirps. Now, follow me, squiiiinks!"

"No. We m—"

"_**SQUAAAACK!!!!!!**_" This alarmed everyone and scared them even more.

"OKAY! We'll follow you!" Rachel yelled, frightened. If she could kneel in space, she would have as she begged, "Just don't hurt us!"

"Good! You heed the captain! You are a space grunt now, and that is the ONLY rule!"

"What did we get ourselves into?" Phred asked Tippi.

"NO WHISPERING! All of you must respond only 'Yes, sir!' and 'Gotcha!' Got it, squirkle?" they answered with a mixture of the two answers.

"Squeh squeh squeh squeh… Looks like you understand your place, SQUIIIIIIIIIRP!"

"Are you all sure about this?" Tippi asked everyone, concerned with their welfare and not her own. They responded a regrettable yes.

"If you say so…" Squirps then yelled to get in formation. The team had no clue what that was, so the little green alien became angry again. The anger scared them to get into a single file line without thinking. The lack of ground prevented them from being perfectly straight, so Squirps became even angrier.

Eventually, Squirps got fed up and decided to float into Phred's arms.

"What're you doing?" Phred asked, slowly inching away from Squirps.

"We're gonna 'squarp' directly to the Pure Heart. It's like warping, except Squirps invented it! In order to squarp, we'll need a lot of energy, squeeeeeerk."

"Why do I have a feeling this won't work?" Ray asked.

"Because you're so pessimistic." Retorted Rachel.

**~*-SPP-*~**

They came out of the portal… still in space. This displeased the captain.

"…Squoh?"

"I'm assuming this isn't where the Pure Heart is." Ray said. Squirps looked around and became even more displeased.

"We're… not even close to our destination, squooops… IS THAT ALL THE POWER YOU HAVE?!" Squirps started to talk sourly about his crew to himself.

"I resent all of that!" Phred exclaimed.

"No time for resentment. There's a ways to go before you reach the Pure Heart… You must space-swim! Squirps can shoot balls of fire at enemies when you spin the star on Squirps' antenna. Now fire, space grunt!"

And fire Phred did. With his friends following him, Phred made the path safe by destroying all of the jellyfish-like creatures. They eventually came to another portal and a save block. They saved before entering the portal.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"SHOOT THOSE THINGS!" Rachel pleaded. Phred obeyed and, upon defeating the second one, the party leveled up with one extra attack point. Their victory was short lived, for more enemies approached, but at least those were easier to defeat with the extra power.

"Look, another portal!" Rachel happily cheered. They entered and popped out somewhere else in space.

Eventually, the gang found the Star Block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Phred and the gang cruised  
through space, led by the  
young alien named Squirps.**

**What kind of creature was  
it, anyway? And what was  
with those weird noises?**

**Whenever confronted with  
a question, it would say,  
"Squirps is Squirps, SQUAAK!"**

**All they could do was trust  
that he knew where the Pure  
Heart was and follow him.**

**They were doing just that  
when something appeared  
ahead of them.**

**It was a teeny-tiny planet.**

**With a breathable atmosphere.**


	24. A Paper Emergency

World 4-2: A Paper Emergency

"This planet really seems… on the small side… Just where do you intend to take us?" Inquired an unsettled Tippi.

"Somewhere on this planet should be an entrance to the Space Byway, squeeeork! Yep, it's a shortcut to the Pure Heart!"

"Would have never guessed with it being a bypass and all…" Ray thought out loud in a whisper.

"Really… You don't say… And where might that entrance be?" Tippi asked for everyone.

"Squeh squeh squeh squeh… You're gonna laugh, squaag!"

"You have no clue where it is, do you?" Rachel directed to the alien more as a statement than a question.

"NO! …Squirps forgot!" The gang and Tippi (even the Pixls) glared at the tiny, green, pink-cheeked alien.

"…" muttered Tippi.

"Don't look at Squirps like that! Everything's fine!"

"You better hope so." Ray threatened.

"There should be some clues around here somewhere, squirple…"

Tippi insulted the alien, but out of nowhere, Squirps acted strangly… he was dancing the potty dance.

"HNNNNGH!" he groaned in agony.

Tippi, not accustomed to the way young children tell their parents that they need to go potty, asked if he remembered something.

"NO! I… I have to go potty! I _REALLY_ have to go, squirk! I… I can't hold it anymore!" He started to tremble, then ran off-screen to the right. Rachel started to say something.

"Well, I guess we should look for so- AAYIEE!" Rachel moaned, starting to blush. Phred and Ray looked at her in a questioning manner while Rachel looked down and then back up.

"What is it, Rachel?" Tippi asked.

"Squirps remembering having to go to the bathroom made me have to go too!"

"Oh… Oh, dear…" Said Tippi. "Well, come with us and if we find something, you can finish up there…" She suggested.

Phred nodded in agreement and led the gang down a ledge and found a conveniently located blue Port-a-Potty with a pink door that said that it was useable for both genders. They also found a restless Squirps waiting in line.

"How… conveniently ironic. Well, when Squirps is done, you can take care of your business, Rachel…" Suggested Tippi.

"Squirps isn't going to be done for a while! There's someone else in there, squiiinkle!"

"…Who?! WHO COULD BE STUCK IN A BATHROOM IN THE MIDDLE OF SPACE?!" Ray demanded. He then proceeded to the door and pounded incessantly for answers. Eventually, a Spanish voice came through the door. It sang:

"Heeeere I seeeeeet, amore!  
Awaiting youuuuuu, amore!  
No more, no more, amore!"

"This is no time for some silly song, squirple! I've got a bathroom emergency here!"

"Don't forget me with my problems!" Rachel added quickly, yet quite calmly.

"100 years agoooooo, amore!  
I came in here to go, amore!  
So bored, so bored, amore!

No toilet paper here, amore!  
I wait 100 yeeeeears, amore!  
What for, what for, amore?

Any paaaper, please, amore?  
Just a sheet for me, amore!  
Implore, implore, amore!"

"You guys go ahead, I'll just wait with Squirps… just be sure to bring EXTRA paper, though. I mean, if you find some." Rachel told them.

"Well, just keep holding it in…"

"You're joking, right?"

"Sorry, I was trying to be helpful…We will come back… C'mon Phred and Ray."

"Are you leading again?" Phred asked as the threesome walked away from Rachel and their space tour guide.

"I think I should. Just for this one chapter… I hope you don't mind, Ray."

"Mind? I could care less if you lead… at least you know what you're doing."

"Hey!" Phred shouted to Ray. Both Tippi and Ray ignored him and continued on. They quickly met the common enemies of the planet on the first ledge they jumped on. Three hits and they killed it.

They fell down the next few ledges and found a locked door.

"This has to be the door we need to get through… I'm certain." Tippi remarked.

"Why, because it's probably the only locked door we'll probably encounter on this planet?" Ray challenged.

"…Yes…" Ray was fine with that.

Phred didn't speak a word until they encountered a strange formation of brick blocks that looked like it blocked a door.

"Anyone remember to bring Boomer with us?" Ray said no, and Tippi agreed with Ray.

"I guess I'll just have to go back and get him. Wait here." Phred walked off. Once Tippi couldn't see Phred anymore, she told Ray something.

"I could have sworn that he was here with us a second ago…"

"He was. I hid him behind me." To prove it, he pulled Boomer from behind.

"Why would you do that?" Tippi asked.

"I needed to get you alone. So tell me, why did you scream 'no' as you took everyone back? I heard that you don't really remember yourself… was it because you remembered something?" This tirade of questions hit Tippi in an instant; she felt too overwhelmed to answer. But a minute later, she found the ability to do so.

"I think it was from my past… I'm never sure of it, though, but I remember thinking of an incident… There was a boy and a girl… The girl was very elegant. She had silky smooth, curly brown hair, her eyes were a shade of pure white and her face was flawless…" Ray raised an eyebrow, but Tippi continued.

"And then the boy… Completely different from the girl… his scruffy hair was a deep jet-black, his eyes red… they pulsed. And the garment… it was white. It made no sense at all… he looked so evil. I mean, why would an evil guy wear a jovial celebration color?"

"I know what you mean… happened to me once."

"I saw the girl being forced to leave. She didn't want to and the boy didn't want her to… but something coerced her to. I think I screamed 'no' then because—"

"She didn't have him!" Phred called back to the waiting yards away.

"He really had to show up at a time like this? Tell me later…" Tippi nodded. Phred came closer and closer and soon he rejoined the two telling them about Boomer. Then Tippi told Phred what must have happened.

"I think Boomer was on the other side of the blocks waiting to blow them up. But when he heard his name again, he stopped and listened."

"Oh. I'll buy that." He then used Boomer without questioning Tippi and blew up the blocks to reveal a door. Phred entered first. Tippi stayed behind a minute while Ray asked another question.

"Hey, why did you lie to him?"

"Because he trusts me…" She left Ray to figure that one out, who didn't take too long in doing so; he cast the riddle aside and followed the others.

**~*-SPP-*~**

After many fumbles and tumbles, they reached the next room that held Ray's first Mega Star. Phred motioned for Tippi to stay with him until Ray returned to normal. They then scurried off to find him. They did and found that he hadn't made it all the way, for some enemies remained.

Nevertheless, they found their way to the next door and in the next room found a Space Food and another door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The trio found themselves in a house with an old looking… alien doesn't even describe it. Phred said hello to the thing and it replied nicely.

"Greetings, young explorers… Welcome to this remote land. You must be bushed, bloooog."

"Even these people have speech impediments… wonderful." Ray muttered to Tippi.

The poor old man droned on about some treasure and a space clue. Phred thought he'd be interested. But that was until he heard the asking price.

"So, explorer to explorer… I'll cut you a deal, blooog… This clue for one thousand cons!"

"WHAT? No way! You're much more of a rip-off than Bestovius!"

"Who?"

"I'll tell you later…" Tippi told Ray.

"It's too rich for my blood." Phred told him.

"What? Too expensive?! Well, maybe a little, bloog…" He coughed and wheezed. "I'll cut you a deal: how's a hundred coins?"

"Ya know, for an old man, you're pretty shady…" Ray told him. "Besides, why don't you look for the treasure yourself?"

"I'm old! I'm portly!"

"I guess that is true…" Tippi whispered to Ray.

"And I DID look, bloooog! I just didn't find anything…" He coughed again.

"So… how does ten coins sound?" Phred asked. The old man agreed and the party gained a paper clue. Phred read the words aloud.

"By rock man's noggin,  
when outer space is reversed,  
the door secret hides."

**~*-SPP-*~**

_**AT THE PORT-A-POTTY…**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Oh, I'm so glad you guys returned!" Rachel greeted. "You got EXTRA paper, right?"

To be honest, they didn't, but they didn't dare tell her that. Instead, they pretended to not hear while giving the ancient clue to the first occupant of the portable bathroom. It sang its song again, and then they slipped the ancient clue inside. It sang again, but a different tune.

"Fleep has a-waited for you!  
At last we meeeet, mi amore!  
My sweeeet, sweeeet papter!"

Fleep flushed.

"And now we do part, amore!  
For down you depart, amore!  
No more, no more, amore!"

"Sq-Squirps can't take it anymore! Squirps will burst! EVACUATE ALL PERSONEL!"

"As long as you brought more paper, I'm fine with waiting… but hurry Squirps!" Rachel pleaded.

Squirps really meant what he said, though, for he stormed into the bathroom as a Pixl, Fleep, exited for the first time in a century.

"**RELIEF!** Eeet's a paper miiiracle! Fleep is a-feeeeeling good! …You bring Fleep the happy?"

"Um… yeah." Phred said.

"Fleep has been a-waiting so long for you, amore! Si, for this momento!"

"Wait a minute," Ray started to say in a dramatic voice, "You're not Spanish… _you're Italian!_" Phred elbowed him for being so random.

"We Pixls are helpful tools, si? But we no choose masters, be they goood or baaaaad! Still, Fleep has the passion to be used for something, so… Fleep waited here, amore!"

"Wait, so the paper was just a test?!" Tippi asked.

"Si!" Phred and Ray had to hold back Tippi. Fleep continued; he was completely oblivious to Tippi's anger.

"And you found Fleep, amore! Oh, thank you deep, amore! From this momento, you and Fleep are as one! We shall never paaaaart! Fleep follows you, amore! Companion true, amore!"

"Get on with it!" Shouted Rachel from the sideline.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**THE REVERSABLE PIXL NAMED FLEEP JOINED YOUR GROUP!**

**Use Fleep and you can turn over sections of the screen!  
Something good might be hiding back there for you to pick up…**

**~*-SPP-*~**

Fleep told them how to use him, and then the toilet flushed again. Squirps was not in pain anymore. But Rachel…

"You never answered if you found paper. Well, did you?"

"Um…………………………………no. But I'm sure Fleep will find some!" Phred said cautiously.

"Actually… I just remembered that I have my journal." Ray interrupted. Everyone tuned to him. "What? I always carry around my journal."

"You're willing to sacrifice part of your life?" Rachel asked, tearing up.

"…only the crappy stuff."

As Rachel wiped her tears away, Ray ripped about eight pages from his precious book for Rachel. She thanked him and entered the bathroom.

The toilet flushed a few minutes later, and Rachel came out of the Port-a-Potty.

"Well, now that everyone is refreshed," Tippi started, " I think it's time we continue on and look for a key… or at least something to lead us to a key…"

"What about that ancient clue? It said something about faces. I remember there was a rock with faces on it. …In this part of the planet, even!" Phred motivated the gang as they ran by use of Dashell to follow him.

At the mentioned rock, Phred used Fleep to flip the lightning-bolt rip in the sky. A key fell.

"It's the key! Quick, let's head to the locked door!"

They did, and they found themselves staring at the Star Block in the next room. After defeating the Fuzzies, they struck it.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Phred and friends headed  
to the Space Bypass in  
search of the Pure Heart.**

**How did Squirps know about  
the secret route? Our Heroes  
stared suspiciously at him.**

"**Why are you staring like  
that?" said Squirps. "Are you  
falling for Squirps?"**

**Needless to say, they were  
now scared of the small  
little helper from space.**

**In the darkness of space,  
the eyes of Squrips glinted  
mischievously…**


	25. The Gates of Space

**Well this certainly is an early update! Reason being is that tomorrow I'm going on a little trip to NYC with my choir and will be afk for until next Tuesday (which is when I will post the next chapter). Though we're staying at a really nice hotel, I doubt there'll be a computer in the room and, if there is one, I wouldn't have time to fiddle around with SPP. So there you have it!**

**And now back to our regularly scheduled chappie!**

* * *

World 4-3: The Gates of Space

"This is the Space Bypass!" the green child proclaimed.

"Are you sure? It looks like plain old space to me..." Rachel commented through her helmet.

"From somewhere in here, we can enter the Whoa Zone. C'mon, space grunt, look for the entrance, squeork!" He continued.

"'The 'Whoa Zone'?" Tippi asked unsatisfied. "You simply MUST be kidding with me… I demand answers…"

"Yeah! Ever since we picked you up, all you've done is keep information from us and order us around." Phred said.

"Fine, squirple... It's a prohibited zone, squirp. Some call it the 'Space Graveyard,' squoooiks."

"If it's a graveyard, I'm out!" Rachel said loudly.

"It's not a graveyard! It's only an overly complicated maze… They say once you go in, you can never get out…"

"Who's 'they?'" Ray asked.

"And supposedly," continued Squirps, "the Pure Heart is hidden at the very back of that maze, squinkly!"

"...And how did you come across all this information? _Who are you REALLY, you incontinent little imp?!_"

"But Tipps, he gave us the information! Does it matter where he got it?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, because if he had all that information at the tip of his tongue and withheld it for all that time, he could be working for the enemy and leading us into a trap!"

Before Squirps could assign punishment for Tippi's implied mutiny, his stomach growled.

"I made some room with that pit stop! Now I'm hungry…"

"You're joking, right?" Ray said. "We're in the middle of space! With no back up food! And it's not like we're going to find a Circle-K around here…" (He'd soon regret saying that.)

"Don't worry! Find the Whoa Zone entrance, squibble!"

Tippi muttered something.

"C'mon, we're wasting time just floating here and arguing. We should go now." The gang agreed with Phred and started on their way

On the way to the other side, they encountered the jellyfish-like creatures again. They also found some spinning platforms that caused damage when touched. Ray learned the hard way.

"Why me...?" he asked the narrator, who ignored him and continued on with the story.

At the end of the area, they found a random red X. Thinking it was a test for Fleep, Phred used him and discovered that it was. Two large green pillars appeared with a keyhole the shape of Squirps in one of them.

"Huh, he's a key annoyance. What're the odds?" Ray semi-consciously said.

"Squirble SQUAAAAAAAAK! This hole… what a lovely shape, squirp! I don't know why, but I want to be **squeezed **into there! Someone squish me in!"

"Let me!" Tippi pleaded. Phred did it for her (lack of hands prevented her from doing so) and instantaneously, a door formed in between the pillars.

"What is this thing?" Tippi asked Squirps.

"It's a space gate, squrip! These lead from the Space Bypass to the Whoa Zone! Through this gate is the way forward, space grunts!"

"I doubt this is the gate we need, but oh, well." They entered.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Told you."

The team continued until they found another X. Phred repeated the process, which repeated the pillars. Yet there was something different about this set. Was it the fact that there were two keyholes instead of one? Probably.

"Another wonderful shape! I feel another compulsion… Must… get… _twisted_… into… there! Someone twist me in!" Rachel did this time. Space rumbled, but nothing happened.

"Something… Something's missing, squirk. Definitely, I can't shake it… There is only one solution: Squirps must eat something! Something yummy!"

"Again, where are we going to find a Chevron around here?"

"You said Circle-K last time…" Rachel corrected. Squirps interrupted the argument by declaring he wasn't moving until they came back with something that started with 'cho' and ended with 'late'.

"This I declare." He said. They left him in the hole and found a warp hole at the end.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Wow… there_ is _a 7-Eleven in space…" Ray said, keeping with his inconsistency of popular gas stations. The team causally entered the out-of-place and conveniently located convenient store. Ray ran to the back to see if they had a Slurpee machine while Phred and Rachel talked to the man at the counter.

"HAVE A TWINKLE DAY! Welcome to the Twinkle Mart! If we're not closed, we're open!"

"I'm glad you have logic. Now, we need some chocolate. Do you have any?" Rachel asked. He ignored her.

"WAAAAAAA! I was SOOO lonely! Since our grand opening, you're our first customer!"

"Fun, but we need to buy something!" Rachel said again. He started rambling to himself now.

"I think I should have thought about location more when I bought this place…"

"Look," Phred sternly said, "We need to buy an item or three."

"Oh. Whatcha looking for today? Just grab whatever grabs your eye, Twinkle shoppers!" Rachel made a face while Phred bought one of each chocolate bar. After paying, the couple exited and waited for Ray.

"Now I know how you felt when Mimi ignored you back in the mansion." Rachel said, starting conversation.

"Heh heh, yeah." He turned to Tippi and asked, "So how are you?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine... and irritated with that Squirps character..."

"You can say that again!" Rachel said. "He's so commanding for a child! Thank God I decided not to have children."

"What?" Tippi asked. "How come you don't want the joy of being a mother?"

"She thinks it's way too much responsibility to bring up a child." Phred answered.

"Is it a problem with money?"

"Tippi, she's carrying a one thousand dollar bill on her. I don't think it's money problems."

"Oh... I just can't see anyone not wanting to have a child... I've always wanted to mother a newborn and raise it to be a good, loving adult like its father--" She stopped herself there. What was she saying? Who was this supposed father? It didn't matter...

Soon after things got quiet, Rachel decided to sit on the recycling bin to rest a bit. She sank into it a little and looked stuck.

"I'm recyclable!" She said, laughing all the way.

"Rachel, you better get out of there... I don't want to see what Ray thinks of this..." Tippi suggested.

"She's only having fun... but speaking of Ray, what's taking him so long?" At that moment, the sliding doors whooshed open and the alarm chimed. Ray floated out with a Double Gulp sized cup filled to the brim with Coca-Cola Slurpee® Slush, decorated with a long spoon straw sticking out from it, and met up with the gang.

"Ray," Rachel started still in the recycle bin, "how did you get that?"

"How did you get in there?" He countered.

"Easily."

"Same."

"But… this isn't 7-Eleven… how?" Phred asked.

"I dunno. Don't question Nintendo logic. Now get outta there, Rachel, and let's just get back to Squirps."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Squirps so hungry… Squirps can't move… Well, Squirps CAN move, but only very slowly. Squirps needs to eat something yummy!" Without speaking, Phred gave him the blue candy bar.

"Squirps is a gourmet! You think I'd be satisfied by something like this, squaaag?" He almost didn't eat it, but Ray force-fed it to him. Seconds passed.

"TH-THIS IS… … the chocolate and nuts melt together, creating a full flavor with a clean finish! It's a sweet, chocolate sonata written for lovers… _**it's pure cocoa love!**_" He shouted, adding a heart in the comment.

"Squirps… are you okay?" Rachel asked, concerned.

"_**TOOOOOO GOOD!!!**_" This response surprised everyone to float backwards abruptly. What happened next was even stranger. Squirps split himself into two parts and landed in both keyholes... thus triggering the door to appear. When it did, the two merged back into one.

"Squirp! Sorry about that… Squirps got carried away…"

"You're telling me." Rachel mumbled.

"The gate… it appeared…" Tippi spat out speechlessly.

"Our goal is almost in sight, squoogle! Let's go, space grunt." They did. In the next section, they found the Star Block and a bunch of enemies. They took the easy way out and dodged them all in 3-D.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Phred and his friends took  
the Space Byway and merged  
into the Whoa Zone.**

**Known to some as the Space  
Graveyard, it was said to  
consume all who entered it.**

"**Just a little bit longer…  
We'll be arriving soon."  
Said young Squirps**

**With his unblinking eyes  
glimmering, Squirps continued  
to forge onward.**

**Would Phred and his friends  
get their hands on the Pure  
Heart at long last?**

**

* * *

I doubt anyone will guess what happens inside the Whoa Zone... not even you CaHF... :D**


	26. The Mysterious Mademoiselle I

World 4-4: The Mysterious Mademoiselle I

Ray sipped the last of his Slurpee as Squirps described the setting of the green maze that caught most of the team's full attention.

"We're here, squeeegle! This is the Whoa Zone!"

_Sluuuuuuuurpppp… slurp SLUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRPP… SSSSS—_

"Cut it out, Ray!" Rachel yelled.

"Squirps can't wait! Squirps is going to scurry ahead. Follow Squirps when you can."

"What?! You can't leave us to get lost in here!" Phred argued.

_Slurrrp…_

"Don't worry! Just pay attention to where you're going and you won't get lost, squeerp! Well, Squirps will see you later…at the spot where the Pure Heart waits!" The little child of green then left the four to comprehend that he had actually left them.

"I can't believe that creature left us at a time like this…" Tippi told the others. "But… I must say that the presence of the Pure Heart is slightly overwhelming in this realm… It's somewhere in this zone…"

"Yeah… at the end." Ray said, tossing his now empty cup to the ground for lack of a trashcan. As the cup fell, the spoon straw slipped out of the hole and touched the floor. The instant it did, the calm green color that painted the walls and platforms completely turned into an alarming red.

"Ray, what did you do?!" Phred asked.

"You litter-bug!" Rachel scolded.

"Who knows? That could actually be an advantage to us… Maybe there's a policeman who will take us to the end by means of shortcut…" Tippi suggested.

That prediction came true as two Hammer Bros. came out and read the charges against the accused (Ray). Littering was prohibited in the Whoa Zone and now they had to report to their squad leader at the back of the maze. The two out-of-place enemies led them.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Wait here." One of them said as they both entered the door. Phred took the initiative to save, just in case.

"This is all your fault, Ray! If you hadn't littered, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Rachel accused.

"So? We bypassed the entire maze didn't we? So stop whining and accept the fact that I actually helped!"

"Ray does have a point, Rachel…" Tippi was easily on Ray's side in this situation. Before Rachel could talk back, the two brothers reentered the room and escorted them in. What they saw inside was utter shock.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"IEDA?!" The three humans shouted to the masked female—garbed in a black and grey outfit with two gold buttons, an orange belt with a dark yellow belt-buckle, and a blue neckerchief and a blue headband—in the middle of the room.

"Who?" Tippi asked.

"Ray's girlfriend." Phred told her. Tippi "ahhed" in understanding and returned to the problem at hand.

"What're you doing here, Ieda? What happened to good?"

"Heh heh heh… Good? I spit on your goodness! Besides, I'm one of Count Bleck's more promising minions. The Blue Typhoon…" She then performed a sequence of spectacular moves such as a 1,440-degree spin and emanating rays of blue in a circular path. She then proclaimed, "**MADEMOISELLE I!**"

"Mademoiselle… I?" Tippi questioned. Ray shushed her as the rouge ally walked closer.

"Yes, yes. I don't need you to tell me it's a cool name. I know it. Don't even bother trying to memorize it."

"Why?" Rachel asked, slightly knowing the predictable answer.

"Because I'm about to give you a burial at sea… er, space. Now, _have at you!!_"

Thus beginning the battle. Ray opted out quickly; he didn't want to injure his girlfriend, no matter how out of whack she was. So this left Rachel and Phred to battle alone… again.

"Well, as much as I hate to do this, let's get this over with Rach."

"Trust me, I hate it as much as Ray does."

"Cut the chit-chat and get battlin'!" Mademoiselle I interrupted. Phred made an attempt to jump on her, but she dodged the attack and jumped higher than Phred thought.

"Man can you jump." He whispered.

Rachel went in for an attempt and dented I's health.

"Argh! Thank goodness I've got those shake things the count loaded me up on." She said, opening said drink up.

"This could take a while..." Tippi said as she flapped her wings next to Ray.

The couple soon got into a rhythm of whittling down the boss' health; each hit took six away and with every hit, Ray cringed. It never occurred for him to just look away, so the entire battle hurt him.

I's most difficult move to avoid was her spring jump. She would fold down (seeing as they were made of paper) and would spring high into the sky.

"Geez, how many moves do you have, Ieda?"

"That's not my name, girl! It's Mademoiselle I!"

The battle resumed and Phred and Rachel soon learned to step away from her when she prepared herself to the move.

Eventually, with enough hits, Ied- er, Mademoiselle I soon fell.

"Oof!" She mustered to shout, "Impressive. Well… there's only one thing left to do, so…  
COME TO ME…  
METAL SISTER!"

As if on cue, a blue, female-looking robot blasted from the wall and landed in front of the villainous girl.

"Ha HA! Do you like her?" the villain asked.

"No!" Tippi interjected. Everyone shushed her.

"This is my dear metal sister. She and I share a spiritual bond that's forever. You know what I mean? Of course you wouldn't. No matter… I call her… _**SISTRON!**_"

"Sistron? You- oh, never mind." Tippi said before she was shushed again. She jumped into the control panel and threatened pain. With one flick of a switch, all of them found themselves in the deep reaches of space.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Phred found himself wearing his helmet and Squirps randomly floating about space. He grabbed onto the captain for dear life so he could destroy the machine and not the creator. The antagonistic protagonist spoke again before the battle started.

"The gravitational laws of space allow Sistron's potential to be fully realized! Now it's time to see if the machine is truly better than man!" Phred yelled for Tippi and the others to float away to avoid damage. But Rachel noticed something on the horizon.

"Chocolate bars!"

"Where? Oh! That's a lot of cocoa… Hey, Phred, we'll stay back and grab the bars for you… I have a feeling these will be helpful for us…" Tippi shouted. Phred nodded and started firing at the metal beast.

The firing commenced from both good and bad, but good had an advantage. Those chocolate bars came in five flavors: barrier, speed, power, missile, and multiple. Blue, yellow, red, green and purple (or grey in Ray's case) respectively.

Phred shot at least a hundred fires before he started to feel faint from lack of health and sick from all the chocolate. It was then that Sistron took the opportunity to suck Phred in and steal away some more precious HP. Luckily, Phred floated as far left as possible, avoiding what would have been his imminent doom.

Many, many shots later and the group was down to its last three HP. Everyone took the toll on their stamina, but stayed strong. However, Sistron managed to hit Phred two more times. Game over could be seen in their heads.

"Well, it was nice while we were winning… now what do we do? Die?" Rachel asked Tippi.

"Well, normally yes, but you have a Life Shroom… Phred and I saved if from Chapter 1… It should take affect… now." As if by magic, the heartful mushroom gave life to all. Just what Phred needed to finish off the monster mechanical figure. Upon the first shot he fired with the new life, it started blowing up.

"Wow. One more hit was all we needed? And we almost died." Ray found himself saying.

"Hey, this makes no sense!" She screamed from behind the glass.

"It's simple, the good always triumphs." With that, they all returned to the green room; Squirps disappeared.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The girlfriend of Ray fell from above in front of the group standing perfectly without a quiver. She questioned the audacity of their actions.

"Because we're that good." Rachel coolly said. It hurt Rachel to say this to her best friend, but it was the plain truth. This only tempered Mademoiselle I, but she left before she took it a step too far. As she left, Squirps entered.

"Ugh… That was awful, squirp!" They all cheered for his health and ableness. He stopped all that though.

"We have to pull ourselves together, space grunts… The Pure Heart is ahead! Come on, squinkles!" He dashed off again.

"He's right, we must find the Pure Heart." They agreed and entered the last door of space.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Inside, the team found a large golden statue of what looked like a queen. Her face looked almost too similar to the one of Squirps. She held a scepter in one of her tentacles; it looked regal and important. As they finished admiring the craftsmanship of the statue, Squirps gave them the story behind it.

"Say hi so Squirps' mommy, squirp!"

"Your… mother?" Phred asked in interest.

"Yeah, this is Squirps' mommy! The queen of Squirpia! Her name is Squirpina XIV!"

"XIV… I've heard that somewhere before…" Ray mused to himself. He quickly forgot, for Tippi pieced Squirps' family tree out loud.

"The queen is…your mother? So you are…"

"That's right! Squirps is the prince of Squirpia, a once-great kingdom… And my real name is—"

"NO! That's fine, we don't need your full name." Blurted out an already confused Rachel.

"Oh… Well, sorry for not telling you about all this—"

"You should be." Tippi remarked.

"But Squirps promised not to tell! It makes Squirps a target!"

"Target? I'm sure there's a story for this." Ray said.

"There is. Long ago, Squirps' mother was told that destruction would come to the world." Whispers of 'Void' could be heard on and off screen. "And in order to protect us from this destruction, we need the Pure Heart. So mommy hid the Pure Heart in the Whoa Zone, where no one could get at it."

"Smart woman." Admired Rachel.

"And so, fifteen hundred years ago, Squirps was put to sleep in a hibernation capsule, squeep!"

"That must be the space craft we found a while back…" Tippi thought.

"Squirps was meant to bring the Hero here… to protect the world, squirple! By the way, the prince of Squirpia, Squirps, has a message from the queen to deliver: I bestow upon you the Pure Heart in the hope that you will save the world."

"Wow… can't get more official than that."

Squirps then pulled out the fifth Pure Heart; it was a shade of light blue, almost the same as the streaks in Rachel's hair. The Pixls performed the funny dance again and the Pure Heart was officially theirs for saving the worlds.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**YOU GOT A PURE HEART!!!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"_**Phew**_**… Now that Squirps is  
all relaxed, Squirps feels  
kinda… tired…" said Squirps.**

**And with that, Squirps lay  
down before the statue of  
his beloved mother.**

"**Mother…" he said, his voice  
soft. "I did my best, right?  
Are you…proud…of me?"**

**The…slowly…young Squirps  
closed his eyes…**

"**He's not dead, is he?"  
Rachel asked Phred, who  
moved in closer to see if he was.**

"**No. He's just asleep." Said  
the first of the Heroes.**

**The mission had weighed  
heavy on his tiny back, and  
he was proud to fulfill it.**

**"You did good, kid. Now  
enjoy your well earned  
nap. Sleep well..."**

**

* * *

**

**First off, that's not where I got "XIV" from. Just throwing that out to make things clear.**

**Second, now that the Heroes are well over halfway done, what new surprises wait in store for them? Only the new door will tell... but first, let's see how the minions of Count Bleck handle Mademoiselle I.**

**And an unnecessary third thing, I have plans to make up for the lack of Whoa Zone adventures if this chapter wasn't liked.**


	27. Meeting the New Minion

_**SOMEWHERE IN CASTLE BLECK…**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Yeah, so, guys? Huddle up, 'K? We're just gonna have a quick new-minion orientation." The secretary to the evil Count Bleck informed the underlings. Mademoiselle I had her own platform and was facing the other minions. Mimi, in a pink dress this time, did not look like she was having a good time. Dimentio contemplated thoughts that were on his mind and O'Chunks was struggling to get his motivational song out of his head.

"Her name is Mademoiselle I, and she comes to us from one of our key competitors." The new minion, however, took this time as an evaluation of the count's troops instead of the troops evaluating her.

"Mmm. Can't say I'm impressed by the minion quality… Oh, no. No, indeed. No wonder you've been trounced up to now. You're like JUNIOR minions." This caught O'Chunks' attention (and what little of it) enough to start raving about the harsh comment.

"JUNIOR?! Why, if yeh wern't a wee lass, I'd introduce yeh to Fist Jr. an' his wee pal, Slappie!" Mimi chimed in as well.

"Gosh _Mademoiselle_, but didn't you get pretty spanked too? I heard that your boyfriend didn't want to hurt you, and I hear he's the meaniest meanie there! Maybe YOU'RE THE JUNIOR!"

"Spanked, you say? Ho ho! No, I was scouting them, dear. They will be mine next time." She performed her entrance dance in front of them. "Yes, they shall know the fury of the one and only Mademoiselle I! AKA The Blue Typhoon!" No one spoke. Not even the count, though he wanted to to stop her from going too far. Luckily, she said she had to leave for the repair shop for Sistron modifications. There was an ease of tension in the room.

The count looked mesmerized for a second. In fact, he started quoting from the dark book, itself.

"'Though the Hero shall wield formidable powers, one shall stand against him. The ebony-skinned one shall use the Chaos Heart's power to bring darkness to all.' Bleh heh heh heh heh… So it is written in the Dark Prognosticus." Dimentio seemed interested in the passage.

"So what you're saying is… the 'ebony-skinned one' is our minion-in-training? The one with the tongue-twisting name?"

"Whut?! That makes as much sense as a beef an' broccoli sandwich!"

"Calm yourself, O'Chunks. Make ready, for Count Bleck is sending you out on a new mission." Mimi protested, but O'Chunks cheered.

"Ah, now THAT makes sense! It'll be me honor, Count! I, O'Chunks, swear to you… This Hero's got a hot date with me feet! Chunks away!" He jumped down instead of farting off.

"My, aren't we hot blooded?" Dimentio asked to no one in particular. "Well, well… I suppose that's to be admired. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to be on my way as well. Ciao!" He left in his usual means of leaving.

Mimi complained, as she left, "So poor little Mimi doesn't get to be in on the fun? THIS STINKS!" She then flipped out of the room.

The camera panned back to the count and Nastasia.

"Yeah," She started, "I hate to seem like a whistle-blower here, but O'Chunks may not… actually, in retrospect, even Dimentio, Mimi, AND the new girl may not be up to this… Those Heroes are gonna collect the Pure Hearts and come here. They'll come for you…" Count Bleck responded in a way she did expect.

"Bleh heh heh heh heh… All is according to plan, Count Bleck assures you."

"It's strange…" continued Nastasia, "Nobody ever, um, cherished the universe the way you once did… And yet, you've been made to destroy it…"

"**That's quite**- ahem. That is quite enough, Nastasia." She then whispered something that caught his ear.

"You'd what?"

"Oh, if only I could have, y'know, been that girl… Things would have been different…" The count turned away from her and tisked the comment.

"She cannot be replaced. You could never hope to do so, Nastasia." She gasped in sadness and shock. She recovered smoothly, though.

"Yeah, um, I'm very sorry. That just slipped out." The count tipped his hat and lowered his staff hand. His words were solemnly deep.

"To be sure… She is gone… Gone from all worlds, never to return…" He flipped out, leaving Nastasia alone again.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**What… What are you  
thinking? There's no possible  
way… No one would allow it!"**

"**If we can't be happy here,  
we must leave for a place  
that will accept our love."**

"**But, Blumiere, is there such  
a place? Think… I can't bear  
to see you hurt again."**

"**If our love has no home…  
let us spend our lives  
searching together!**

**So I beg of you again…  
Timpani, marry me! I promise  
I will make you happy."**

"**You…just won't give up,  
will you? Of all the crazy…  
stubborn…foolish men…"**

"**Timpani, answer me,  
please!"**

"**Blumiere, I love you.**

**Take me away.**

**Take me to a world where  
we can be happy…"**


	28. flipside ǝpısdolɟ

**I didn't feel the need to keep everyone waiting a week just for a Flipside chapter so enjoy!  
**

* * *

The gang walked back through the green double doors while they commented on how that chapter was actually more fun than they expected. Even Ray seemed satisfied enough to admit it. But now, they had to focus back on the task at hand: finding a fifth Heart Pillar in a town where there were no more to be found. They thought they'd ask Merlon later, so they stayed up on the tower and talked.

"Ah, now we've got five Pure Hearts…" Tippi reminisced. "This is turning into quite a collection…"

"Oh, I wish I could make a necklace out of one. I'd love having one." Rachel wished.

"Stop dreaming and take one then." Ray suggested.

"No! These are to save the world! I can't jeopardize the future by turning this precious object into a materialistic piece of bling."

"Yes, yes, tee hee…" Tippi laughed. This actually caught everyone's attention, for she rarely laughed. And if she did, it was in the face of evil.

"Well, I guess we owe Squirps for helping us find that one… We should be grateful…"

"Who isn't? ...Aside from you, Ray." Phred asked.

"Say Tippi, something about you seems different. You're… you're more happy. I like it!"

"Thanks, Rachel… gee, you really think so? I guess ever since you all saved me from Fort Francis, I've been feeling really good… I just feel like I could hang around you guys forever!"

"Don't." Ray harshly told her. That earned him two elbows from both his cohorts. Tippi 'tee hee hee'd' again.

"So, you're all back?" The familiar voice of the elder called out to the team. They all turned to look at him approaching.

"Oh, Merlon… we were about to visit you…" Tippi said.

"Oh… oh, well. Since I'm here right now, I guess I can ask about your venture through the outer limits of man. How was it? Did you find another Pure Heart in Outer Space?" He asked.

"Yep!" Rachel told him.

"And this one—" Tippi started, but then couldn't. Two flashes of light came from nowhere, and then the multi-colored butterfly suddenly stopped moving. She slowly floated down to the ground, keeling over as she brushed the floor.

"Tippi?" Phred asked. "Merlon, what happened?!" He was as confused as they were. He then commanded to adjourn in his house for an emergency meeting. They promptly followed his shadow.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The screen lightened to reveal that all were staring at Tippi on the blue table that the Light Prognosticus - which was now sitting on the floor - used to stand in glory.

"Very well, let's all take a breath and gather ourselves here… I'm very concerned…" Merlon finally said, breaking the silence.

"Who wouldn't be concerned?" Ray asked as an insult more than a genuine question.

"Well, I figured out what has happened: Tippi may be unable to maintain her Pixl form for much longer."

Everyone: o.O?

"OK, well you see, Tippi was not always a Pixl…"

Everyone: O.O!

"I found her in her true form, exhausted, cursed to wander through dimensions forever." The ancient Ancient turned to the group to continue. "She was hanging by a thread! Barely alive… so I took a desperate measure…"

"That must have been turning her into a Pixl somehow, right?" Rachel guessed.

"Correct. Using my ancestor's magic, I transformed her soul into a Pixl… and this Tippi was born." He concluded.

"Oh… my God…" Phred whispered somberly.

"So where's she from then?" Ray asked. Merlon closed his eyes.

"She had lost her memory, so I have no idea who she is or where she is from."

"That's not true…" Phred piped in.

"Excuse me?"

"No, because over the course of this trip, she's been gaining some of her memory in chunks. Rachel and I were in one of the Heart Pillar rooms when she had an episode. Remember, Rach?"

"Oh, yeah! And in Merlee's Mansion, I said something that made her go into some state of shock or something, but she said she remembered something."

"And just in Outer Space," included Ray, "she told me about why she randomly screamed 'nooo!' when she took those two," he pointed back at Rachel and Phred, "back to fresh air. It sounded like something she'd be doing."

"That better have not been when I was searching for Boomer…"

"Okay, okay. That is enough. You three young ones have proved your point, but none of you have concluded or have any information to back up my next hypothesis."

"Which is…?" Ray asked.

"She did not come here by chance; fate connects us. And my intuition in this area is rarely mistaken." As he said that, the Void grew in size.

The Void must hate bragging, I guess.

"The Void has grown larger."

"I wonder by how much…" Rachel asked.

"That's not all, these tremors have been happening more often than not. It's becoming a common phenom, I'm afraid."

"Ugh…" Phred moaned. "More pressure… It makes one wonder if the words in that book will actually hinder the Doomsday Prophecy."

"Of course it will! I'm disturbed by your lack of faith… Anyway, you three must be off now, so I shall watch over Tippi while you go and find the Heart Pillar."

"That was another reason we were going to find you… we don't know where the next one is."

"You're the Heroes, you find it!"

"But can't you just tell us?" Rachel pleaded. Merlon shook his head no.

"Not even a tiny hint?" She asked, cupping her hands together under her chin and pouting.

"If I revealed anything, the secret would be out... but I suppose a hint wouldn't hurt. It's not in Flipside. It's parallel to it. Now off with you!"

"But—"

Merlon made a move as if to shove them out. The team surrendered and left before Merlon had to use any force.

The first thing they did after being kicked out of his house was walk over to the inn and rest up. There was a five-coin fee, but that didn't matter; they had 451 others after they paid. They woke up and loitered in front of the Flipside Tower, where Phred saved. As they stood there, they thought of places parallel to Flipside. No one could think of any though…

"God, he didn't help at all!" Ray complained.

"I know! Where are we going to find someplace that's parallel to Flipside?" Rachel asked.

"…Well, there is _one_ corner of Flipside we haven't checked yet." Phred told them mysteriously. They questioned him, but he only led them to it.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"I remember this! I still don't know why I didn't blow up that crack…" Rachel mused. She then did so without hesitation and allowed her and her friends to pass through the wall in 3-D. Back in the alleyway, there were more residents, two houses, a granite plate, and a dimensional rift that looked as though Fleep could flip.

Rachel walked over and read the plate on the other side of the alley while Phred flipped the lightning-bolt. Ray hit the resulting switch.

Rachel returned in time to see the section of wall in between two lampposts draw a square outline with the square falling down. Phred asked what the plate said upon her return and she said something about eight blocks and each color once. Trying to solve the puzzle, Phred took everyone down a hidden 3-D bridge and end at a door to a building that none had ever seen.

They cautiously, casually entered Mirror Hall.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Those must be the eight blocks." Phred noticed as he stared at eight different colored blocks rather than the expert stained-glass window art depicting what looked like important people (one of them Merlumina).

Ray struck only the black block, leaving Rachel and Phred to decide how they wanted to hit the other seven. They finally agreed to continue down the line until the red one was hit. Once it was all said and done, something startling happened.

"Guys, look!" Ray shouted. Both turned to him, then the mirror dividing the four windows started to crack. As the cracks multiplied, dull light found its way through. Soon, enough cracks formed so the mirror shattered and the fragments disappeared.

"Can… can we go through?" Rachel asked the 3-D expert.

"I'll try." He then flipped and reappeared on the other side.

"Phred, you look as if you're on thi- WHOA! What's going on?" Ray shouted as he witnessed Phred walking back and forth between the newly created opening. He disappeared again and reappeared.

"There's a door on the other side of this building. I think I solved Merlon's riddle."

Rachel and Ray grabbed onto Phred and walked with him through the hole to the other side. They returned to the second dimension and found that the other side was much darker. This didn't matter to them, for they exited and continued business as usual.

They exited Rorrim Hall.

**-*~PPS~*-**

After acclimating to the reverse universe of this darker Flipside, they finally reached a similarly designed house that looked like Merlon's. It sat quietly next to a black Flipside Tower. A man that looked exactly like Merlon stood in front of that door to the house designed like Merlon's. The difference was that this man wore black as his main color and his mustache ended with a hue of rose. He spoke as they approached.

"I welcome you!"

"Who, us?" Phred asked.

"Yes. I knew you'd come eventually!" he said.

"Oh, you _did_, did you?" Rachel questioned, standing defensively.

"Ho oh! I can see that you would like to ask me where in the world we are!" Even his laugh mirrored that of the blue wizard. "Ho-Oh, oh ho! This place may seem like Flipside…"

"…but it isn't?" Phred finished for him.

"Exactly! This is **FLOPSIDE**! The inverse of Flipside!"

Everyone: …

"Okay," he started, trying to explain to them, "you WERE in Flipside, but then you flip-flopped sides… that Mirror/Rorrim Hall is really a dimensional reversing room!"

"So… if we're in_ Flop_side, then you're…"

"Exact again! I am Nolrem. Not Merlon, Nolrem. I'm nothing like that goody-two shoes... I mean, I _do_ support the strive for goodness, but I'm more exciting than that old bag of bones!"

"Wow, this is weird." Ray commented as he went into a state of deep thought.

"You must understand that our story has been a story of two towns, yet the only ones who know of this moonlighting of flip-floppery are Merlon and I! Oh, and now you four. …You seem a bit surprised."

"Of course we are! We just crossed into a parallel universe! That's only supposed to happen in corny and cheesy Sci-Fi movies!" Phred complained.

"Hey, there's one _good_ Sci-Fi television show that uses that theme only twice! AND IT'S BRITISH!" Argued Ray.

"QUIET!" Nolrem yelled.

"Wow, you _are_ nothing like Merlon." Rachel complimented.

"The Heart Pillar you seek is one floor up. Go to it immediately!" He then reentered his house, leaving the teens to finish their current task. The elevator switch was where they'd normally find it in Flipside… just on the other side of the tower.

**-*~PPS~*-**

They found the little boy that had the fishbowl back in Flipside. They soon found out that this little boy was obsessed with aviation and birds and the sky. Only continuing to prove that that was not Flipside.

The Heart Pillar stood erect and unbeaten in the far corner of the area. It surprised them that such an object had been kept preserved for so long. They wondered why the rest of the town wasn't as unbroken as that lonely white pillar. Phred placed the light blue heart in the slot that held it perfectly.

The clockwork lines took on the color of the heart and also took over the screen once again and circled its own core. The air pulsed once more and they figured that the door was being drawn in this new world.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Back in Flipside, at the top of the tower, a fifth door that matched the color of the fifth heart copied the procedure of the other doors and drew itself.

**~*-SPP-*~**

In Merlon's house, Tippi started to twitch again. The ancient wizard rejoiced at this miracle and thanked his ancestors and the Heroes.

**-*~PPS~*-**

The circles disappeared... but that was minutes ago. The team was now standing in front of the Flopside Tower waiting for the elevator when Nolrem stopped them.

"You won't find the door up there… It's back in Flipside. But, I must say, you do seem to be performing your duties efficiently."

"Um, thanks?" Phred thanked.

"However, to more important news: I just got a message from Merlon that Tippi is fine." Everyone sighed in relief. "She apparently revived with the placing of the Pure Heart."

"Where are they?" Rachel wondered.

"They're at the top of the Flipside Tower; yet another reason for me stopping you from boarding the elevator." As he said that, the doors swooshed open. They thanked Nolrem for preventing a time waster and scurried back to Rorrim Hall.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"…But are you _sure _you're up to this?" Merlon asked a fifth time.

"Yes… I'll be fine… This is no time to stay in bed anyway. And I…" She didn't finish. "Never mind… I just want to be near them."

"Well, I can't stop you. Besides, these good people need your information. Heroes," they woke up, "be sure to take care of Tippi." They all agreed and entered the door to the Land Before Time… volume eleventy-six.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Still worried about Tipps'  
condition, Phred and friends  
opened the fifth door.**

**They still needed to find  
three other Pure Hearts…**

**But the imminent destruction  
of the world was approaching  
at an alarming pace.**

**Already the real world  
outside the game started  
to feel the wrath of The Void.**

**Camera crews started to appear  
at the Brekon's place of  
residence for a good look.**

**A good look at the preservation  
of man and the destruction  
of the evil forces living.**

**But they knew not of that.**

**One question was practically  
planted into everyone's head:**

**Would Phred have enough  
time to save the day?**

**And what foul trick would  
Count Bleck and his goons  
come up with next?**

**The adventure grew more  
dangerous… and more thrilling…  
with every step!**


	29. Downtown of Crag

World 5-1: Downtown of Crag

Lines drew themselves to make the horizon. Next, rock pillars and a rock platform appeared, growing larger until they reached their appropriate size. The background blurred into view next, revealing many hills and volcanoes - the setting for a much more simpler time. As the grass was popping up (the last thing to appear), two rock-cavemen jumped up onto the slab and started dancing.

However, the door appeared a few hundred yards above all that. None of our Heroes noticed as they walked out of the door, so they stood in midair like in the cartoons.

"Oh, my!" Tippi cried out, "Where are we?"

Ray questioned how they would know.

"Well, I can't sense the Pure Heart yet…"

"But gosh, is it a nice view up here in midair!" Rachel remarked.

"M-Midair?" Phred asked Rachel, slowly turning his head to hers. Ray turned to Rachel too, and when she realized what she had just said, they all looked down upon the ritual that took place below. They looked at each other again, and one by one they started to scream and fall.

"Oh, dear…" was Tippi's only comment on the matter. She continued to stay in midair thanks to her wings.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Down below, the two rock people chanted and worshiped their god.

"Brah! Big Rock Who Watches! Cragnons just little rocks! Cragnons need help!" One with a triangular head chanted with poor grammar; the 'who' should have been 'whom'. That's beside the point, though. "You hook Cragnons up, brah! Or Cragnons go CRONCH and then no more Cragnons!"

"End of all Cragnons coming!" the second one – who had a circle head – started to say, "NO WAY! MUST CRAG ON! Save us Cragnons, brah!" They chanted again… and who should fall in between both but Phred, Rachel, Ray, the Pixls, and Tippi? The first 'Cragnon' responded to this.

"**OH, CRAG!**"

"Wh-What in Crag?" The second asked, shaking in his full-body loincloth. Phred moaned, as did Rachel and Ray. Tippi came down at last and asked if everyone felt fine, completely ignoring the shivering stone people. There were mixed responses: Phred said he was fine (but he really wasn't), Rachel thought she broke something thanks to landing on a rock, and Ray… well he was broken before.

"HEY!" Ray shouted to the sky as if to get a response from some sort of supernatural being he thought was narrating specific points of his life. Phred and Rachel rolled their eyes and turned back to Tippi.

Before anyone of the main characters spoke, the first 'Cragnon' asked the second one if they saw what they saw. He replied in the affirmative. Then…

"WAIT! You think maybe… person sent down to help by Big Rock Who Watches?!"

"The what?" Asked Phred.

"This pointy hair, brah?" The first asked. "But…huh."

"What is it this time?" Rachel asked.

"Thought that Big Rock Who Watches would send someone…"

"Yes?" Ray asked.

"…cooler."

The entire team would have taken him on if the second didn't stand up for them.

"Bite your crag, brah! Do not doubt power of Big Rock Who Watches!" Hesitantly, the first agreed. Just then, the two approached the protagonists and carried them away. Naught could stop the two rocks. Not even Tippi.

"You stop that this instant!" She yelled out to them as they faded in the distance. She followed them.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The team stood in a rock hut. An old chief did not feel worthy to stand in the presence of the three who fell from the sky.

"Where are we?" Rachel asked. "And what are you…things?" The first answered her.

"This is land of Cragnons. Me Cragnon, him Cragnon, this land of Cragnons." Triangle head said.

"It not rocket science, brah. Anyway, big brah here is chief of all Cragnons." Circle head told them.

"Cragnons? What?" Tippi inquired. The chief responded to her.

"Cragnons having trouble down here… Serious. Bad. Big, big dang—"

"Well spit it out, already!" Ray rashly said.

"One day, freak plant-people came. Nerd Cragnon named them Floro Sapiens."

"Look who's talking about freaks…" Ray whispered.

"Wait, flower people?" Rachel asked, getting wide eyed. Phred told her that they may be an enemy; she didn't care.

"They kidnap many Cragnons… We were peaceful brahs… they give peace no chance." No one interrupted his ranting. "Rescue team of Cragnons now need to BE rescued." Ray snickered. "We at end of our crag…" he complained.

"Why don't we help?" Phred asked. Rachel didn't object, but Ray wanted no part in doing so.

"Why?" Tippi asked.

"Well, maybe these flower people have the Pure Heart."

"Touché."

"You prune Floro Sapiens? You save kidnapped buds? You hook Cragnons up?!"

"Sure thing… brah." Phred told him.

"Of course! I really want to meet living flowers!" Rachel explained.

"Why not?" Tippi asked.

"Nah, man." Ray answered.

"Ray!"

"What? Do I look like I want to help these rocks? No! I'm more interested in saving Ieda from that guy's brainwashing facility."

"…the facility is a woman…" Rachel held her head when she said that.

"Whatever! I'm just interested in saving our friend!"

"Well, this will get us closer to saving her." This convincing argument from Phred turned Ray to agreeing forcefully.

"Yah? You not cragging my chain? Cragnons owe you big-time, brahs!" The chief praised. The other two praised them as well. Before the team could set out, another triangle head entered the hut.

"Tuh-Tuh-TERRIBLE, BRAH! King Croacus return!" it announced.

"King Croacus?" Phred thought.

"Wha-Whaaaat?!" The chief asked, risking a heart attack.

"Village Cragnons kidnapped! Please… Cragnons need hooking up, brah!"

"Servants of Big Rock Who Watches… you heard that, right, kind brahs?"

"Kinda hard not to." Rachel told him.

"P-P-P-Please! You help! Y—"

"We're already on our way…" Tippi told him. "Let's go." So everyone exited the stone hut.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Hey, check it out, man!" a yellow flower said, "Haven't seen that one before, have we?" the flower pointed to Phred specifically.

"Wha…?" puzzled Phred. A second yellow flower entered the scene and agreed with the other sunflower-like being. But it was a comment the first made that really caught everyone's attention.

"…we need a Pure Heart polisher!"

"These odd creatures seem to know about the Pure Heart!" interjected Tippi.

"We heard." Ray told her.

"Let's tenderize this rare breed a bit and tote it back to King Croacus, dude!" They agreed and commenced to attack by using their heads as boomerangs. Not one of them expected that, so they all were hit. Ray didn't like this one bit, so he started throwing his knives into the stems of them, piercing their very biological mechanism. Once they died, Tippi spoke to the others.

"Hmm… Seems as though the leader of these uncouth things has the Pure heart…"

"Ya think?"

"We'd best try to find him…" Before they could set out… again… they were interrupted by a plea for help. They all turned to see what the great hoopla was about. More Floro Sapiens were taking Cragnons over a log bridge.

"_Floro Sapiens are taking more villagers!_" Tippi screamed.

"Well, let's actually go find them now." Phred said. They finally were able to explore a bit. They looked at the primitive houses and wanted to enter them. But each door cast them away, thinking that they were the evil flowers. Not even the store would appreciate their business.

They finally reached the stone stage where they first fell onto, and then the bridge. They approached a door and a save block. Naturally, they saved and entered the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The Floro Sapiens fled to the left. The Void was noticeably visible in the background of the setting.

"They're fleeing… I wonder where they're headed…" Tippi wondered.

"I dunno, but we're gonna find out. C'mon, let's follow 'em."

"I wanna check out what's to the right first!" Rachel pleaded. They obliged to her desire and figured out ways to kill the Moon Clefts with spikes on their heads. Rachel figured out to bomb them and then they could jump on it. Ray tried to use Carrie, it halfway worked. You could jump on the spike without getting damaged, but it would take no harm.

Eventually, they reached a pipe and the only other Back Cursya in the entire game. They went down the pipe and found two Shorps. Rachel took care of them quickly with Boomer. When they disappeared, a treasure chest was unveiled. Inside was…

"I now understand how you felt when you found yourself on the trading card, Rachel." Ray said, twitching at the card depicting him in a white tuxedo.

"Aww, you look so dapper! So unlike you…" Phred commented. They exited and headed left. They found more Moon Clefts and quickly killed them. They then climbed what seemed like a mountain. What awaited them at the top was another Moon Cleft.

"God, these guys are annoying!" Phred commented as he stomped the life out of it. They jumped over the oddly placed pipe that didn't work and fell down a bit. Thinking this was a 3-D puzzle, Phred flipped into 3-D and instead of finding a way through, he found a card for making it easier to beat the annoying spiky rocks.

"Maybe… Maybe we should use your parasol, Rachel…" So everyone climbed back up and grabbed hold of the parasol. They floated with ease to the other side of their previously impassible puzzle. But down below, another puzzle was presented to them.

"And in what order are we supposed to hit these boxes?" Ray asked, not expecting an answer. Phred didn't have an answer, but he randomly hit them. Left, Right, Middle. As if by magic, the ground shook and a pipe popped up.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Good gravy! Wooly Mammoths are back!" Rachel fearfully yelled. Tippi didn't notice that, for she mentioned that the Floro Sapiens were in the background.

"I'll take care of them!" Ray shouted heroically.

_**Thirty Minutes Later…**_

The last Muth was finally dead.

"Finally…" Tippi commented.

"Hey, if we were more powerful, I'd've taken care of them _much_ faster!" he yelled to Tippi.

"Don't yell at Tipps!" Rachel yelled at Ray.

"Well don't yell at me for yelling at Tippi!"

"Don't yell at Rachel for yelling at you for yelling at Tippi!" Phred yelled.

"Don't yell at me for yelling at Rachel for yelling at me for yelling at Tippi!"

"Don't yell at Phred for—"

"_**GUYS! STOP!**_" Rachel screamed. Everyone stopped yelling and stared at a now huffing and wheezing Rachel. "We… need… to… focus. I mean, look… there's ano… another set of blocks… whew…"

"It might benefit us if we go back for help… I don't think this will be as easy as the last one…" Tippi suggested. They all agreed and headed back to the Downtown of Crag.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Upon returning to the stone stage, they came upon a Crag doing something that set Rachel on a wild spree: he was dumping trash into the river. He was even singing when he did so.

"Garbage into river, CRAG! Every day into river, YAG! Toss it and it gone, GRAG!"

"Erm… what are you doing?!" Rachel frantically asked.

"Throwing trash into river, obviously. Use your Crag."

"But… _WHY!?!?!???!??!!??!?!?_"

"We return trash to nature, brah! Cannot waste garbage! Everyone knows that!" They literally had to drag Rachel away from the rock. It was almost impossible with her kicking and thrashing her arms around. Eventually, they arrived at the stone and the triangle head noticed them approaching. Rachel calmed herself and listened with the others.

"Still looking bummed, brah? That not face of person getting their crag on. Jasperoid know what you need, it put smile on your face, crag you not." Rachel smiled at his name, thinking of her favorite book.

"…And?" Phred asked impatiently.

"Jasperoid not tell you for free… but Jasperoid not want money. Jasperoid just want you to say please real quick. Then Jasperoid tell you."

_**Ten Pleases Later…**_

Yah… Niiiiiice, brah. Jasperoid can tell you want to hear big secret. Jasperoid feeling it, brah!"

"Please get on with it…" Tippi said.

"This kinda long… you may—"

"Doesn't matter!"

"Okay… Next time you find three blocks lined up, you bonk like this…"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"We should have written it down…" Tippi said.

"Well, it's too late now!" Ray told her. "besides, we all thought you'd remember it."

"I did! It went like this: middle right left left right middle right left right right middle right right left middle middle left left left right left left left."

"…there were two more." Phred remembered.

"Were there? Then why didn't your notepad catch them?" asked Ray. He chose to ignore that and continued to contemplate.

"They were both… they were both the same." Phred, on a hunch, struck the middle block twice. The pipe leading to the background appeared.

"Hooray!" Shouted Rachel, as she was the first to go down it. The rest followed after her. Upon reappearing to the foreground, Rachel struck the Star Block before anyone realized where they were.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**In pursuit of the abducted  
Cragnons, Phred and Co.  
headed for the Gap of Crag.**

**What did the Floro Sapiens  
want? And where was King  
Croacus with the Pure Heart?**

**Despite their hustling pace,  
our Heroes never caught  
sight of the Floro Sapiens.**

**But Phred didn't give up. He  
knew his fleet feet would  
catch them eventually…**

**

* * *

This is where I start to love the chapters and I hope you do too!**


	30. Pixls, Tablets, and Crag

World 5-2: Pixls, Tablets, and Crag

"There! We've caught up to the fiends…" Tippi announced as the fiends specified entered a door heavily guarded by enemies on the other side of the area.

"We've gotta catch up!" Rachel encouraged. This was no easy task considering the spiky, tall enemies ("That precarious cactus is a Pokey. Unlike other cacti, this one can move. Is it a plant or an animal? Nobody knows… This prickly beast will throw pieces of itself at you… It's very unpleasant… It's covered in spines, so you better not touch it or pick it up… If only we had a hammer…") and the Putrid Piranhas didn't help either, but at least the gang had a way of defeating them. And with one down, they leveled their attack up.

They reached a small lake with a moving platform. But Rachel had other plans.

"I want a picnic!"

"…What? A picnic? You can't be serious." said Ray.

"Well, I can understand where she's coming from. It _is_ almost dinnertime for everyone else and," Phred was hesitant with this next part, "I'm getting hungry too."

It took several minutes to try to convince Ray to let them take a few minutes, and when Tippi joined the argument, he was done and just said, "You know what? Just have at it. But if the world ends, I blame you." Happily, Phred, Rachel, and Tippi sat down on the dirt and conversed while Ray rode the moving platform back and forth alone and in solemnity.

They didn't talk much as they ate because they lacked a proper subject to talk about. But Phred finally found one, though he was trying to avoid it.

"So, Tippi, remember anything exciting lately?"

"Surprisingly not…" she lied, thinking about that strange proposal by the man who claimed to be her lover. Rachel, with her mouth full of a Peachy Peach they found earlier on, claimed her to be lying.

Tippi had no time to retaliate, for a strange, metallic noise penetrated everyone's sensitive eardrums (If you heard a strange, metallic noise, your ears would be sensitive too).

Ray heard this too, and was now standing up. He looked towards his team members to see if it came from over there, but alas it didn't. However, he saw that they were trying to yell something to him. Something that sounded – and looked – like "It's behind you!"

"Wha-?" He questioned as he turned around only to be hit in the stomach by an odd looking computerized looking skull. This hit to the stomach caused Ray to loose his balance and fall into the waters below.

"RAAAYY!" Rachel cried out despairingly. She grew within herself a rage to kill this beast to which they still didn't know the name of. Luckily, Phred chimed in asking Tippi what that thing was called.

"It's a Megabite. No one knows where these skull-like creatures come from… But its got four health points and you can only do one damage at a time, regardless of what level we are… so you don't really have to worry about defeating this villainous creature every time."

"Well, let's make this the only time!" Rachel yelled to them as she heroically and dramatically ran and jumped to the Megabite. Phred winced and closed his eyes while Tippi only watched in awe at how much the girl loved her little brother. Rachel's acts caused a certain phrase to spark in her memory. One that sounded as if it related to the subject matter of her and the lover.

"_I would do anything for you. You are my world and without you, I'm incomplete. I'm just an empty void without you._"

"GYYAAAAAH!" Rachel screamed at the top of her lungs, thus bringing Tippi out of her state of thinking. Tippi caught a glimpse of the Megabite fleeing.

"So you didn't…?" She asked.

"Does it look like it?!" Rachel answered back rashly. She turned away and started mumbling to herself. "Not only have I lost my brother, but my opportunity for vengeance!" Phred and Tippi thought they heard her crying.

SPLASH!

Everyone: ?

Ray landed on his feet in front of everyone. It looked like he clutched to something important.

"Ray! You're alive!" Rachel ran over to hug him. The impact caused Ray to loose his grip on the tablet; it landed in front of Phred. He picked it up and examined it further.

"It's got a picture of water on it. See?" He showed Tippi (Rachel was still hugging Ray) and she thought that to be important.

"C'mon, guys. We gotta get going." Ray agreed with Phred (Rachel was _still_ hugging him… at least until they moved on) and they headed through the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Look!" Rachel cried. Not too far away, the Floro Sapiens went down a pipe one by one. After the last one was out of sight, the pipe sunk down into the ground and a nearby big, yellow block moved over it, blocking intruders from entering.

"Disappeared down a pipe, did they?" This obvious question was asked by Tippi. The humans agreed. Phred suggested that they explore this area and take out all the enemies. Ray obliged to the killing and set forth on a rampant killing spree while Phred and Rachel looked around for clues and other helpful things.

They headed to the left first. The two reached a door; it was in midair.

"Now how are we supposed to enter such an oddly placed door?"

"When in doubt: flip," responded Phred. He flipped and discovered that the blocks conveniently centered under the door were really made of brick and not an indestructible material. Placing Boomer behind said blocks caused them to explode, revealing a switch in 2-D.

Phred returned and found Ray standing with Rachel now. Rachel jumped on the switch and caused rocks to draw up from the ground and level out to where the door was positioned in midair. Obviously, they entered the door with no worries.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Ray immediately set out to destroy every enemy in the room almost instinctively. This left Phred and Rachel to look for what they thought would be the next tablet. It wasn't long before Phred thought to look in 3-D again.

"Phred, there's a pathway!"

"I think he knows…" Tippi answered for Phred. Ignoring the two girls, Phred flipped back into 2-D to grab Ray along for the walk down the hidden entrance.

They got down there and found a stone – not a tablet – in the shape of fire.

"So, we burn this?" Ray asked Tippi.

"It appears so… oh, if only we had fire or something that would spark a fire…" With those words, Ray got an idea. He started to look for two rocks.

"Ray, what are you doing?" Rachel asked.

"What does it look like?"

"It looks like you have ADD," Phred joked silently. He then said, aloud, "You're looking for rocks that… oh!" Tippi had an 'Oh!' moment too. Rachel still didn't know. After Ray found his two rocks and started clicking them together, she had hers as well.

_**Thirty Minutes Later…**_

"Just because I'm doing the work doesn't mean you have to stay quiet, ya know," said Ray, breaking the silence.

"What are we supposed to talk about?" Tippi asked him.

"I dunno, just don't be so quiet. It's starting to bug me."

"Well that's new, considering you like quiet thanks to your lifestyle," commented Phred.

"Hey! Just because I'm like that doesn't mean I like silence _all the freaking time_!"

"…You didn't curse. That's **really** new," Rachel noticed, "what happened to you?"

"I only did that because I had a feeling mom would smite me when we get out of here if I sai- OW!" He jerked his hand to in front of his face; it was slightly burned. "That was involuntary self-injury before you jump on my case." He quickly defended.

"Look!" Tippi cried. They looked to see the rock smolder away, revealing the second tablet with a picture of fire on it. Phred pocketed it and he told everyone that they should head back to the second room and see what's to the right of the block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Something is not right." Phred announced. "I sense…… _**Scottish?! **_Fu—"

"Phred!" Rachel yelled.

"I was going to say 'fudge' thank you very much! Now, Tipps, restrain me if you can."

"How's _she_ gonna restrain _you_?" Ray asked. But Tippi obliged, for she knew what was coming up ever since Phred sensed Scottish in the air.

A few paces further, and the burly voice of O'Chunks called out to the Heroes.

"Showed at last, did yeh?" Everyone looked around, and then forward to stare at the Beast of Bleck. He yelled "GRA-BLAGHY!" when he landed, and then posed when he gained his balance.

"You." Phred calmly said, resisting the urge to lash out at him then and there.

"Who is this creep?" Rachel whispered to Tippi.

"This is O'Chunks. One of Bleck's minions. He's Scottish and Phred loathes his existence."

"QUIET YEH! Where was I?" He didn't remember.

"Ooh, I'm afraid this fellow is terribly misguided…" She said more to Rachel than the air. Unfortunately, O'Chunks took offense by stomping his foot and saying that misguided wasn't a real word. Ray cautiously stepped back while he yelled to start the brawl now.

Tippi sighed. "No matter how often we do this, it will end the same… Just step aside!" The team agreed with her.

"Grah har har har har," laughed the brainless oaf, "Big tald fer a wee li'l weird-lookin' butterfly! I'll be wantin' an apology! In writin'! An' I want it written with yer FACE!"

"Oh, yeah?! Well, there's a more likely chance of Ray turning happy than you defeating us!" Rachel taunted. The argument ended there, for the soothing voice of everyone's favorite demonic jester pretty-boy rang out, greeting O'Chunks.

Dimentio appeared hovering in between the Heroes and his counterpart minion. However, he floated more on the side of O'Chunks. Ray nearly fangirl screamed when he showed up.

"Y-You…" was all Tippi could manage.

"Ah! Once again we meet, like two large, hairy Vikings on a storm-tossed schooner (no offense to O'Chunks of course)!"

"What d'yeh want, Dimentio?!" protested the already raged warrior, "I don't be needin' any help! Yeh'l just get in teh way!"

"NOOOooo! Stay, please?" begged Ray.

"You've obviously lost my business card."

"It wasn't my fault! It was her!" he pointed to Rachel, "She made me drop it over the edge of the giant tree!"

"Oh, if you're going to bring me into this, then why don't you tell him why?"

"He doesn't need to know that you made me loose it because it was 'fraternizing with the enemy'! Who cares if I do?"

"I DO! You accuse me of doing so everyday by dating Phred!"

"That's different! I don't do anything about it! I let you be and—"

"You let us be?! _You_ let us _**be**_?! Name one time you haven't tried to break us up! ONE TIME!"

"Children, children! No more or I shall be forced send you two naughties into the corner for a time out as if I were your mother and you my children." Ray and Rachel turned their backs to each other and crossed their arms, huffing as they did. "Now, where was I before this started?"

"O'Chunks was angry with you." Phred told him, resisting the urge to quote _The Princess Bride_ by saying 'Australia' as the answer to the question.

"Ah, yes! Thank you my pet. A quadrillion pardons! Far be it from me to be a hindrance. Far, FAR be it! As it so happens, I merely have an acquaintance in this land. I was just saying hello!"

"Hi!" Ray responded, thinking that he was the acquaintance. Rachel elbowed him.

"Unfortunately, my number one fan, you are not the acquaintance I seek... but hello anyways!"

"Sayin' hello, eh?" O'Chunks asked a little too late. Dimentio raised his hands as if to do something dramatic.

"Yes, truly! And I saw you and I thought, 'Perhaps my magic can aid in this fight!'" with those words, he transported everyone to the Void-less Dimension D. Ray almost teared with joy to be back in that green utopia.

"Ah, rest assured, I'll hardly be underfoot! You fight to your heart's content! Ciao!" Before Ray could say good-bye, he left. There was a moment of silence (this one didn't bug Ray) that was broken by O'Chunks.

"Whu… That doesn't sound _too_ bad, I guess. Maybe I misunderstood that weirdo." He said soberly, seeing as there were no grammatical errors whatsoever. "Well, anyway, you lot are in fer it now! Meet the new-an'-improved O'Chunks!"

"Leave him totally to me. I have a score to settle with him." Phred warned. The siblings and Tippi stood back.

The battle didn't actually last too long. It was fairly repetitive though. Phred would deal at least three blows and then take two damage as if by clockwork. The brute gave in soon enough.

"GRRRRA-BLOOOOOOOOORGH! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he moaned. Along with that defeat was a one-way ticket back to the prehistoric era. Ray sighed in sadness, Rachel sighed in relief, Phred sighed in satisfaction, and Tippi sighed because everyone else sighed.

"BLARGH IT ALL!" O'Chunks yelled out, "Bad enough that yeh beat me once, but **twice **is too much teh bear! 'Specially since you got the funny name. Fred…"

"_**IT'S PHRED WITH A 'PH' GODDAMNIT!**_" No one dare sensor that, for they knew not that it was coming. Except for Tippi, of course, but she wanted to let this one go. O'Chunks went on with his well rehearsed speech on putting him out o' his misery and how he can't show his face back to the count and blah blah blah. In the nick of time, Dimentio reappeared.

"Di-Dimentio! Look, this is kinda important! How 'bout some privacy?" O'Chunks nervously blurted out.

"Yes, yes. Of course, I understand that your honor must be satisfied… But, O'Chunks, before you let your game end, humor poor little me for a bit."

"Why can't it be me?" Ray asked, not thinking.

"Because then you'd be betraying your posse. Plus, I need a dull mind, yours is too pure, young, intelligent…"

"Stop it! You're making him blush!" Rachel yelled.

"In the meantime, O'Chunks, I have something I rather think you'll enjoy. I DO wish you would try it out for me."

"**YEH CRAZED LOON!** IT'S NOT THE TIME FER—"

"Oh, it's not the time, hmm? Not the time for something that will aid… _Count Bleck_?" O'Chunks put his hand to his hairy chin and actually thought.

"Ooh… Fer the count, eh? Well that do change a thing or two… Hmmmm…………………………………………………………………………………………… Fine then!" He turned over to the Heroes again. "You lot! Yeh took enough of a beatin' fer today, so I'll let yeh off easy-like!"

"Are you kidding me?! We trounced you! We OWN'D you! Better yet, we PWN'D you!" Phred protested angrily and loudly.

"And what of all that drivel about not showing your face to the count and such? Was that simply a ruse?" Tippi asked.

"'EY! SHUT IT! I _live_ fer the count! I couldn't end me game without 'is say-so! Me heart is weak, sure, so I'm done with it! From now on, I'm all brawn, an' no brain!"

"Only the more easier to defeat you again," said Ray.

"The past be nothin' teh me! All that matters is Count Bleck's future! All fer 'im!!" He said his trademark line.

"Ah, it is time to part… Ci—"

"Wait! Can I have another business card? _SHE_ won't loose it this time."

"I suppose that can be arranged. Here you go!" He threw it to Ray, who successfully caught it.

"Ciao!" The jester disappeared and the dunce farted off.

"That fellow is… troubled. C'mon, we've got a third tablet to look for."

"About that, I think we need to dance around a Yoshi-like statue." All eyes turned to Ray. "I only know that because of the television set back in town with a stick figure circling a big rock." They found the rock behind some hidden rock-shelled enemies and started to do as Ray recommended. As they finished circle one, the third tablet appeared. Phred got it and they headed back to the yellow block area.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Not a soul can know what happened with those blocks. That was too embarrassing." Phred ordered. They had no difficulty in agreeing.

They stood in front of three giant versions of the stone tablets Phred carried in his jacket pocket. These tablets were up in the air.

"So… which order do we put them in?" Tippi asked.

"I've a hunch… Let's see." Phred placed the tablets in in this order from left to right: stone, water, fire. Upon placing the third one in, the ground shook. Though coming as no surprise, Tippi cried out anyway.

"What… Wha-What?!" Eventually, though, the platform on which they stood stopped shaking. There was only a moment to recollect their thoughts, for a new voice appeared behind them.

"HEY! YO!" Everyone spun around. What they found was a hammer-like Pixl flying out from the water tablet and landing in air in front of them; they finally found the perfect tool for the block. No one spoke.

"Whuh? I'm gettin' nothin'… so you're either ignorin' me or that was a yes." He tried talking to them one more time.

"Fine!" Ray yelled in what was perceived as an annoyed tone.

"Nice! Sounds good. Been a while since I heard voices… been a while since I talked. Gotta tell people how ya feel or they dunno… Gotta talk or no one hears ya!"

"This is turning into one of my therapy sessions…"

"So listen, weird question… but you got a motto or what? Whisper it to me, huh?"

"Emiloy, don't type anything! We'll handle this." Phred directed to the real world. He then stepped forward and whispered a phrase.

"Oh yeah…" said the hammer.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"That's perfect!"

"_What's perfect?_"

"I am LOVIN' that!"

"WHAT ARE YOU LOVING?!"

"Real good wordin', real good timin'! It really got me right there! In the heart!"

"Care to shout it for the world to see- err, hear?" Phred asked. He obliged. He made an infinity sign in his flight pattern, then hovered to the center of the platform. Then…

"_**HELP US!!**_"

No one had a comment as he floated back in front of the team.

"So yeah, that's your motto… Words you live by, right?"

"Pretty much, actually." Ray commented.

"Right on! Good stuff! Feels like I know you now… What really drives you… gotta say, it's inspirin'! Wow! Haven't felt like this in a while… Feels kinda like when I first became a Pixl! I gotta get on board this good-feelin' track! I'm stickin' with you!" With that, he officially became one of the Pixls.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**THE HAMMER PIXL CALLED CRUDGE HAS JOINED YOUR GROUP!**

**Swing that hammer to do some serious hammage… I mean damage!  
You can even break giant yellow blocks!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Well, welcome to the team." Tippi welcomed.

"Yeah! Feelin' good about it! Yeah! I got a ton of pent-up energy, lemme tell you!" They waited for a speech about it, but it never came so they fell to the ground and busted open the yellow block. The pipe sprang up, and they sunk down into it.

**~*-SPP-*~**

They found themselves in a cave with a star block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**After repelling O'Chunks,  
Phred and Co. followed the  
Floro Sapiens underground.**

**Was the hideout of the  
Floro Sapiens just up ahead?**

"**Wow, it's dark! And narrow!"  
"Hey! Who just kicked me?!"  
"Sorry, all me."**

**Our Heroes followed the long,  
dark corridor, listening to  
echoes of their own voices.**

**As they groped their way  
along, the light at the end  
of the tunnel grew brighter…**

**They had finally arrived at  
the inner sanctums of the  
Floro Sapiens…**

**The Cragnons kidnapped  
from Downtown of Crag had  
to be around somewhere…**

**

* * *

**_Here's your script, O master of my miserable life._

**Thanks, Ray! *ahem* "I'm Fredrick, I'm fourteen and I'm a boy-" Wait, this is the wrong one!**

_I know._

**...anyway... I'll just have to do this off book. Uh, first off, I'm in another play (YAYAYAY!) and tonight's our last performance day and we're doing SOOOOO well! But you guys don't care about that stuff.**

_Why would you think they ever would?_

**Shut it, I'm monologuing! Where was I- ah, yes. The first of the great chapters. Not good, but great. And I hope that you guys think that they will get better as we go along further into the Floro Sapien's domain and in the journey!**

**Oh, one more note, that thing with the Megabyte actually happened. Moral of the story there: don't let your guard down when you're pausing without the pause screen EVUR.**


	31. Craggle Rock

**By the way, I forgot to mention that throughout the fanfic I constantly call Cudge Crudge. I only noticed a couple weeks ago. I could have changed it all, but I'm keepin' it for (some) originality.**

**Now go enjoy the caves and carts!**

* * *

World 5-3: Craggle Rock

"Does _Fraggle Rock_ come to anyone else's mind?" Ray asked, getting no response. They only moved forward.

After snagging a Super Shroom off a ledge in air, they stopped due to a profound voice rehearsing a dramatic monologue.

"Coming to you live…from the foul darkness that the Floro Sapiens call home. Lesser Cragnons would weep softly. No one has set foot in this cave and emerged alive. But some make history with sheer gall and willpower…and **Flint Cragley** is such a man!" The gang cautiously approached what seemed like the only smart Cragnon who had identified himself as Flint Cragley.

"CRAGLEY HO! Into the Floro Sapien's Cave of Doom! A Flint Cragley Cragtrotting Adventure! …No, no, wait a second. That'll never play well in the sticks. How about…"

"Is this guy for real?" Phred asked Tippi.

"Remember, I know _most_ everything…"

"CRAGLEY HO! Taste Danger! Flint Cragley Vs. a Recragginated Mummy in Floro Sapiens Central! …I wonder if that'll test well with the weekend audience. Those Cragnons are fickle."

"Um, weird Aussie trying to be the Crocodile Hunter…" Ray greeted.

"Ray! Um, excuse me… sir?" Rachel asked. He turned around and nearly startled himself.

"CRAGLEY HO!!! Suddenly…out of the cave mists…mysterious, slavering creatures lurched into view! Did they hope to dine on fillet of Cragley? Would our hero meet their mandibles? Tune in after this brief commercial break to witness the torrid conclusion!"

"We're not here to eat you." Phred told him.

"Well, then what do you dolts want? What are you doing here?"

"We're looking for a Pure Heart… You haven't heard of it, have you?" Tippi exclaimed.

"Huh? You're on a quest to find a treasure called the Pure Heart?"

"What are you, a parrot?"

"Spectacular. Just fabulous! All-time coincidence, that's what this is!"

"You mean… You're looking for it too?!" Phred spat, worried his team's quest would turn into a race.

"Good heavens boy, of course not! It's a coincidence to meet fellow adventurers! I'm truly ecstatic about this. Call me Flint. Please, I insist! I'm a heck of a guy to know. Best cragtrotter of our time!"

"Well, you _are_ the only smart Cragnon, so it's fitting," Rachel said.

Cragley went on for an entire three minutes, gloating about his crag-renowned show and how he's filming another episode.

"Unfortunately," he started, "my idiot crew wandered off somewhere… So unprofessional!"

"What happened?" Tippi asked.

"Oh, I turned my back away for a split second and they vanished into the foul blackness of this accursed cave. The worst part is that they have the key that'll get me deeper into this infernal abyss!"

"Well, _if_ we find them, we'll send them your way." Rachel guaranteed.

"Good thinking! Tell them I'm waiting and stomping impatiently! Pure adventure – personified of course – thanks you kindly!"

"Fine." was all Tippi could say on the matter. Phred said good-bye to the man and they headed forward again to find a pipe.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Whoa! It's a mining cart!" Rachel immediately sat inside and waited for the others.

"It can't be as bad as those last two rooms… Alright, let's." Phred said.

"I'm fine with it." Agreed Ray.

"Can we ride in 3-D? I have a strange feeling…" Tippi input. Phred said yes and got in the cart. Once everyone was situated, it started to move.

Rachel immediately put her hands in the air and sat back, screaming and whooping. Phred subtly joined her while Ray, facing the two of them, looked skeptically at the couple.

"You two are pathetic. This is the wimpiest cart ride ever. I mean these hills aren't even necessary!"

"Oh, hush and let them enjoy it..." Tippi, sitting next to him, defended.

Pretty soon the cart was done gliding over the four bunny hills. A few yards away, the gang noticed a fork in the track. Being in 3-D, they headed to the left and found themselves facing a giant stalagmite.

"We're gonna crash!" screamed Rachel. "Ray, I'm sorry for-"

Fortunately, Nintendo thought this through and had the cart spin under the track for this one… and the next… and the third one. The cart sped onward unscathed.

...That is until it hit the end of the track, making everyone fly out and onto the ground.

"They may have considered our safety for those stalagmites, but they could have at least put a cushion here!" Ray criticized as the others were getting up.

"Now, what were you saying, Rachel?" He asked.

"Oh... nothing."

They entered the door once they recovered.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The team toiled away, searching for where the first camera-crew member was in the room. They finally found it after Rachel thought to float across a gap to see if that would help.

Evidently, it did, because they found the first guy in no time after that.

"Hi!" Greeted Rachel.

"Whoa! Where in Crag you guys come from?" he said. "…Serious. Who are you, brah?"

"We're with the rescue service. There's been a cave in and you need to get back to the beginning of this tunnel." Ray partially lied.

"_And_," continued Rachel, "your boss is waiting for you at the entrance."

"Whuh? You know where director is?!"

"She just said at the entrance." Phred told him.

"Oh, that where he be… Thanks. Hornfels head back now." With that, the sound guy named Hornfels trotted off back to his boss. The gang started back to the cart and backtracked their way to a new area.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Sweet! Another cart!" They all clambered in again and enjoyed the ride. This one had loop-de-loops and missing pieces of track and hills, oh my!

Ray had to admit that this one was just a little better than the last.

But enough about that. The team landed on their stomachs again when the ride was done. When they recuperated, they entered the door.

Upon entering, they found a Floro Sapien waiting to attack. Ray defeated it and went on to a long platform that looked impassible in 2-D. Though it was impassible in 3-D as well, Rachel tried Boomer and enjoyed success.

They found the second member of Cragley's crew.

"Hello." Phred addressed.

"Hey. You not mind controlled? You escape from 'Processing Center' brah?"

"The 'Processing Center'?" Ray asked aloud.

"Monzo maybe ought to take director there. Maybe sprout on head mellow him out…"

"Wait, you _want_ Cragley to be brainwashed?" Tippi asked, concerned.

"If you spend enough time around director, you know what Monzo mean. …Wait, you know director?"

"Yeah, he's at the start of the cave."

"So that where he was… Aww, he told Monzo, 'Wait here!' But Monzo bet he forgot one second later. Jerk… Anyway, job of Monzo really lame. Thanks, brah. Monzo head back now."

"We'll come with you! We're headed back there, anyway." Offered Rachel. Monzo agreed and they returned to Cragley together.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"In a miraculous turn of events, I was reunited with my faithful camera Cragnons!" The gang walked over as Monzo ran over to the side of Cragley. "But there was no time for celebration! We had to swoop to the aid of the kidnapped! With danger nibbling our heels, we ventured deeper into the forbidding cave… To do so, we used the key to the last uopened door in the forsaken labyrinth!"

"You can stop with the theatrics, Mr. Cragley…"

"Right! So, um… you do have the key, right?" spoke Cragley to Hornfels, "Lemme grab that."

"Whuzzat?! You cragging me? You never gave key…" he quickly defended. Cragley then turned to Monzo, who replied similarly. He said he HAD the key, not HAVE. Cragley went back to his theatrical stance.

"A tragic crew blunder ruins Cragley! Had the gods of adventure forsaken us?!"

"Stop doing that!" protested everyone. Monzo continued what he started; Cragley had interrupted him.

"Nah, brah! See… Cragley say, 'You lose this, so Cragley hold on to it.' Cragley got key, brah."

"Preposterous! If such a claim were true, there would be evidence in my pocket, which there ISN'T!"

"Have you checked, Captain Adventure?"

"…Well, I—"

"Please check, Cragley, for our sake." Rachel convinced Cragley to do so and…

"Hm?"

He pulled out the key.

Everyone except Cragley: *facepalm*

"CRAGLEY HO! A miracle struck! As if by magic, the long-lost key had returned to my pocket!"

"With every monologue, he annoys me even more…" Tippi whispered to the group.

"Try working with him, brah." Monzo whispered back.

"Lucky turn of events, finding that key… I'm sure everyone contributed somehow. Now, onward! We must make our way to the last unopened door to the horrid depths. If my research is correct – and it always is! – then this key should open that door! Of course, through the door may lie a trap that will devour us all… Ho ho HO!" He defied the space of Phred's personal bubble by grabbing onto Phred by the shoulder and leaning in on him. "What's that?! You say you want to open the door no matter what may lie in wait?!"

"He never spoke." Ray told the delusional explorer.

He ignored him.

"Tremendous! Such bravery! I mean, I was planning on opening it myself of course, but since you seem so keen… Don't get me wrong or anything! I'm not afraid of anything; don't be ridiculous! That's just laughable!"

"Hardey-har-har." Ray wryly said.

"I'll yield you to lead!" With that, he finally gave Phred the key. Then they left. The team followed.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Tell me we don't have to ride with him and I'll be fine." Rachel begged.

"We're not riding with him."

"YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT!" She started to hyperventilate and sweat uncontrollably out of nervousness. Nevertheless, she got in the cart and rode down with the team who was Cragley-less.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"LOOK!" Rachel called out as she saw the star block. She immediately dashed to it.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**You want REAL danger?!  
How about my duel with  
the foul Rainbowzilla?!"**

"**Surely he can't be serious…"**

**As the Heroes descended into  
into the Floro Caverns, Flint  
Cragley entertained them all.**

"**More like kill if you ask me,"  
Ray directed to the narrator.**

"**Boss. BOSS! Cragnons heard  
that story 255 times, brah…  
You making my crag hurt."**

"**Brah, if you count the time we  
weren't tied up, then it 256  
times."**

**Our adolescent Heroes glanced over  
at the weary, tired faces of Flint's  
crew as they delved deeper in darkness.**

**But a light grew… Was it a  
ray of hope from the Pure  
Heart or an evil illusion?**

**

* * *

**

**Definitely one of the shorter ones in terms of action, but... what're ya gonna do?**

**Hey, the next one's in 3 parts though!!**


	32. The Menace of King Croacus:  Part I

World 5-4: The Menace of King Croacus ~ Part I

"CRAGLEY HO!" The booming Australian voices rehearsed. "We plodded on, traipsing over all manner of beasts that gnashed fangs at us! But then…NOOO! A sight too horrible to believe appeared before our eyes!" Hornfels looked around for the sight too horrible to believe.

"Boss… Nothing happen yet, brah," he told him.

"I know that, you cretin! The 'sight too horrible to believe' is still up ahead! We're going to look for it now! Come on, MOVE!"

"He could at least be a little more humane with you two." Rachel told the two assistants.

"We used to it. Hey, boss! Wait up, brah!" They both scurried off. Ray assumed to go on his killing spree again, so he did. Phred and Rachel looked around as Ray emptied the room. They thought to follow Ray, for he may find something in the process. He actually did: a door leading to the boss.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Inside the room, they found a brainwashed Cragnon going through a scanner. The screen scanned him and pinged. He was able to proceed through to the door on the other side.

"C'mon, I bet that's where we need to go…" Tippi suggested. Phred thought to go through before she suggested it.

He tried walking through; the scanner scanned him. It rejected him by throwing him back. He landed on his bottom, but felt sore anyway.

"What happened?"

"It's nothing Rachel… I guess – ow – we just need something like that stem." He stood up and led his team back to the other room where they found a small pipe and a normal sized one.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Upon entering the next area, Ray spotted a brainwashed Cragnon exiting a door similar to the one leading to the scanner room. They thought to head back after they explored. They met with a Floro Sapien who graciously, after being defeated, gave them a level up of 5 extra HP.

After a bit of cheering, Phred wanted to go into 3-D for no reason, so he took everyone along. This was a good thing however, for they were standing on top of a hole... which they fell through.

"Huh, I never thought I'd have to use Thoreau again," mused Phred as he put together the puzzle.

Everyone returned to 2-D and watched as Phred took charge of the puzzle by carrying a Cragnon onto a red switch. Once pressed, a pipe appeared and they went down it.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"I wanna go down the pipe!" Rachel said.

"I wanna go through the door!" Ray moaned.

"We're going down the pipe." Phred declared.

"Good call…" Tippi complimented. They went down the pipe and found two Spinias and a skull painting. They defeated the enemies and then worried about the cave drawing. Phred, getting a feeling again, called forth Fleep and flipped the skull around. A key dropped.

"I remember seeing a door before we fell through the floor. That's where the key goes." They heeded Ray's words and returned to where he specified.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"That's strange," Phred commented, "it looks like this is a one way room…"

"I sense a Pixl…"

"Then let's meet it already! This could be the last one!" Ray wasted no time in jumping the wall. Rachel followed, then Phred with Tippi. On the other side of the wall was the last surviving Cragnon and a Pixl.

"EEEEEEK! F-F-Found us!" The triangle head screamed. "Gabbro thought this was good hiding spot, since key was lost, brah!"

"Yes, this is unexpected…" The Pixl agreed. "…but so is a storm of rain."

"I like this one." Ray said. "…but not as much as _you_ Carrie." He recovered.

"Wh-Wh-What we do, brah?" Gabbro asked his friend.

"Come, come, be at peace. Calm your raging inner sea. Let us meditate on this." This sort of worked.

"E-Evil brahs! You take Gabbro. Gabbro give up. But her… Do not hurt Pixl!"

"We're not here to harm either of you. We're trying to stop whatever's going on. We're allies."

"That may not work Phred…" Tippi advised.

"But you…"

"No. Let Gabbro speak, brah. You keep Gabbro company… you helped Gabbro hide… Gabbro owe you big, brah, big debt for Pixl! Gabbro's time ending, but Gabbro really want you to live free."

"Come, now. Ease your mind. Let me muffle the walls of your frightened soul. Do not be hasty in fear! Look closer… That is not one of the Floro Sapiens. Instead, those are three humans and a bushel of other Pixls.

"What?" He turned to the gang and said, "Who are you brahs? Could you… You come to_ save_ Gabbro?"

"Um… sure?" Responded Rachel.

"Wow… Just like Flint Cragley (somehow), you've avoided falling under the control of the Floro Sapiens…" commented Tippi. At the name of Flint, Gabbro freaked out.

"What? Flint here, too? Gabbro HUGE Cragley fan!" He then ranted and raved about Cragley for five minutes; the longest anyone has had to endure the entire journey.

"Why don't you go meet your idol? I must bid you farewell, anyway." The Pixl interrupted.

"WHAT? Why? You not come with Gabbro?" The feeling of betrayal started to flood his body.

"Hu- ahem, excuse me. Cragnons and Pixls shouldn't linger long together. Only Heroes who know how to utilize the Pixls properly can travel with them. But please, heed my words now, it's best for you this way."

"Oh, crag…" Gabbro moaned.

"Come now, let me at least assist you in your departure from here. Let your aura shrink. When it diminishes, you can return to the village where the one you seek awaits." With those parting words, the Pixl demonstrated her power by shrinking Gabbro small enough to exit through what Ray notices as a tiny red door. When Gabbro was outside, he cried.

"Farewell, weeping Cragnon! Go frolic beneath the sun, where you are meant to live."

"You are much better than any of my old therapists, I've gotta say." Ray complimented.

"Erm, thanks? Anyway, rain still falls in my heart, the taken souls cry out. Why do they cry such tears? You must stop this torrent. Fate brought us together. Great Heroes of a thousand five hundred years… Now you must take me there… to the deep, dark underbelly of the earth."

"No problem. We'd be happy to take you along. You're one of the more sane Pixls." Phred said.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**THE TINY PIXL NAMED DOTTIE HAS JOINED YOUR GROUP!**

**Dottie can miniaturize you so you can enter small places and avoid being noticed!  
You can even walk on water when you're tiny! **

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Let us go! Before the rain of tears becomes a flood… before disaster breaks…"

"Well, can you shrink us right now?" Tippi asked.

"Of course." She did, and they exited through the door Gabbro did. Once back to normal size, they headed to the first door Ray noticed in that area.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Inside, they found a locked door and a tiny hole that looked big enough to fit through when tiny. Phred volunteered to go down that hole and claim whatever there was. A minute later, he returned with the card key for the locked door. They entered and found a pipe.

Down the pipe, the found caged Floro Cragnons (as they finally named them). There was also an oversized switch, which Rachel punched down with Thudley.

Alarms blared and the cages ascended into the ceiling. The Floro Cragnons started to walk about and the only way to stay safe were blocks conveniently situated just above them. The team headed to the right and entered the pipe.


	33. The Menace of King Croacus:  Part II

World 5-4: The Menace of King Croacus ~ Part II

Inside this ordinary room, an extraordinary voice rang out.

"Ah ha ha. So! At long last, you've come to play, like late-sleeping toddlers!" Dimentio stood with O'Chunks standing behind him, even more brainless than usual.

"Dimentio…and O'Chunks…" Noticed Tippi.

"Ahhhhhhh… Do you not tire of collecting those worn-out, tiresome Pure Hearts?"

"Never!" Rachel yelled at him.

"I see. I am not violent by nature, you know. I prefer to settle this peacefully in fact. Say, for instance, you wished to go back to your world. I could do that for you." That comment stunned everyone. Was Dimentio really capable of such a tremendous feat that everyone thought only Count Bleck could do? Or…

"You… You weren't disguised as Count Bleck when we were taken in here, were you?" Phred asked cautiously.

"My dear Hero, don't be so daft! I would never reach the tall, slender height of my most humble employer. It could never have been me." He defended calmly.

"Well we are NOT interested!" Yelled Tippi.

"Ah ha ha. So it must be… Shall we begin then?" He took everyone to Dimension D again. Including the unresponsive O'Chunks. Tippi groaned.

"Ugh… Havent' you learned? No matter how often we fight, it will end the same…"

"My, my. Aren't you plucky? Same fight, same outcome… You are precisely correct!"

"…So that means…" Ray thought for a moment.

"Yes! And…that…is…why…" He snapped his fingers and a circular spectrum of light emitted from the top of O'Chunks' bald head. When it died down, a plant similar to the one in the Cragnons was there.

"**BRO-CCOLI!**" The vegetablized O'Chunks roared.

"Lovely green hat, wouldn't you say?" He sung.

"Wha-What?" Cried Tippi in confusion.

"Dear O'Chunks! So strong, yet so very dim! A child could learn his attack patterns. As such, I requested a few sprouts from my acquaintance to liven him up a touch. I call the boy 'O'Cabbage'!"

"O'Cabbage? Even you could do better than that!" Phred taunted.

"Don't be shy, O'Cabbage, introduce yourself!"

"**CAB-BAGE!**" he roared as he banged his fists on his chest.

"Ah ha ha. Simply adorable. Now remember, kids: eat your vegetables to grow big! …Except in this case, a veggie will eat YOU! Have fun, now! Ciao!" with that, Dimentio left.

"**AS-PARA-GUS!**"

"Oh, whatever shall we do?" Tippi asked.

"Leave it to us." Phred assured.

_**Two Minutes Later…**_

"**BUH… BUH…**" The injured man roared. "**BRO-CCOLI!**" They all returned to the Processing Center. O'Cabbage moaned again, and the leaf fell off his head.

"'EY! What in gravy am I doin' in 'ere?" O'Cabbage was back to O'Chunks once again. "Hunh? An' what are YOU doin' in 'ere as well? …Oh, I get the picture! You lot want teh challenge the new, improved O'Chunks!"

"Did we not just?" Tippi half-asked.

"Yeh got pepper in yer pants, I'll give yeh that! But this time, yeh WILL get ruined!" Before anything happened, O'Chunks stomach saved the Heroes.

"Whuh-oh… Me belly's grwolin' like a starvin' dog! Warrior rule, number one: 'Never fight on an empty stomach! 'Tis madness!' Sorry, but we've got teh call it a day! Can't go buckin' the warrior rules! Next time, though, yer DONE! Chunks away!" He farted off again. This time, ne'er to return 'til Chapter 8.

"Look… The sprout from his head…"

"It's still alive. So what?"

"It's the same as on the florified Cragnons. And no, it's not alive. …Well, not nearly, however." Phred didn't care whether it was alive or dead, he picked it up because he got an idea. He told it to Tippi.

"…Ingenious! The problem is, how are you going to get him to consent?" Ray, being the only other him in the party, started to glow red.

"You're not sticking that thing on me! Ab-so-lute-ly-not!"

"We might get closer to saving Ieda with this than you think! Besides, you haven't even heard the plan."

"The only thing I need to know is that I'm the main part of it!"

"Can you at least listen to it?" Rachel asked. Ray agreed to at least that much.

"Okay, here's the plan: Ray wears it and we go back to the security gate/scanner thing. We all stay to either side of him, since he's the tallest, and the scanner will only pick up him while everyone gets through. Once inside, you can take it off if you like."

"………I guess it's not _too_ bad. Alright, fine."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Ah ha ha!" Dimentio reappeared in the room as soon as the coast was clear. "Mm… If they could beat that model of O'Chunks…then they are coming along quite nicely. Perhaps they really are the ones I have waited for all this time.

"Ah ha ha! I should prepare myself as well! So much to do, so precious little time…" he disappeared again.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"I still can't believe that worked." Ray commented as he walked back towards the couple after he finished taking out all the enemies. "So now what?"

"We look for the king's door. Maybe 3-D?" He tried and found cracks in the floor. He asked for Boomer and set to work figuring out this puzzle. Four cracks, four differently colored paintings, four underground chambers with a switch in each one. Then…

Phred matched the switch to the painting above. As the last one was set, a door appeared.

The boss of Chapter 5 was near…


	34. The Menace of King Croacus:  Part III

**Surprise! Just thought I'd post the next chapter as well. This week was just a filler week and I couldn't stand it anymore. Plus that last chapter is a little bit on the short side so... enjoy!**

* * *

World 5-4: The Menace of King Croacus ~ Part III

"Ooooooo-weeee-ooooooo! Where, oh, where are my pretties?" A flamboyant voice called out from the center of the room. Just then, a feminine looking "king" appeared to them. His body was coloured yellow with purple eye shadow and gussied up lips. There was a mol- er, beauty mark on his left cheek.

"Preties… Beautiful things… Ooo-wee! Bring them to me… More! More! More!" Everyone cautiously approached the floating flower head.

"Ooo? What is THIS hideous clashing thing?"

"Um… Are you King Croacus?" Tippi asked.

"King? More like Queen…" Tippi couldn't argue with Ray's comment.

"Ooooo-weeeee-oooooooooo! So you must be the intruders I've heard SO much about! Well, I will NOT forgive the great trashing of my beautiful kingdom! **NOO-WEE-OO!** And thus you are warned."

"King Croacus, you must release the Cragnons you've enslaved! Th—"

"NEVER! Their sturdy bodies make them SUCH fine workers. Exquisite! I need them to dig up more gems so I can build a bejeweled palace. Ooo-weee!"

"No doubt about it, this king _has_ to be a queen."

"Hush… That's positively horrid, king… Please release them this instant!" Tippi begged. The head shook his head.

"Trash is garbage, no matter how you dress it. This world is made for BEAUUUUUTY! And if you need some proof, then take a gander a this!" He pulled out the Pure Heart in all its purity and indigo-ness.

"It's the Pure Heart!" Rachel cried.

"I can hear it in your voice… you want it SO badly, you can barely think, mmmmm? Seems we all seek beauty… So how DARE you take a high horse over me?"

"…A what?"

"Don't compare us to you… We're NOTHING like you, you presumptuous feind!"

"Your blabber hurts my ears! And your smell is wilting me! I can stand you no longer! I rarely stoop to such things but I'll destroy you myself. Consider it an honor!" He put the heart away and rose. Petals started drawing to hide his face from attack. Then, a stem and smaller vines with three other… parts – for lack of a better term – appeared.

"Oooooo-weee-OOOOOOOO! Here I COME!" he cried before waving to and fro.

The battle commenced.

"Rachel! You're our best bet at winning since you're invulnerable under that strange parasol!"

"You mean- PHRED LOOK OUT!" He dodged in the nick of time. "You mean you want me to do this _all by myself?_ You're crazy!"

"It's out best shot! And I actually think Thoreau is your best Pixl so you can throw stuff into other stuff with him!"

"YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND!"

"GET ON WITH IT!" Ray shouted, getting impatient. Rachel sighed and started to attack and defend. She noticed that the only time that the king was vulnerable to attacks was when he opened up his petals.

Rachel grabbed him a couple times and damaged him even fewer, but that was because he had his petals up.

Eventually, the great king let up and the vines disappeared after a few difficult hits. All that remained was the head and its petals, however, the petals now became deadly, for they formed sharp pinwheels that circled the room for some time.

Rachel tried to grab anything at this point. Unfortunately, everything was happening so fast that she lost her guard some and forgot about the parasol occasionally. She started to feel weary, but she knew she had to keep going. She knew that eventually, the great brute would let up.

"One more hit!" Phred encouraged. Had she really done it that fast? Well regardless, that was good enough because the timing was perfect. Rachel had jumped just as he opened his petals. It felt as if she were in slow motion, like in an action movie where the protagonist is about to send the last blow to the enemy.

WHAM!

The king froze. He turned a ghastly shade of green and light brown. His luscious petals fell to the floor one by one. His eyes widened and he twitched. In a defensive manner, he launched himself to the middle of the floor and landed on his side.

Wearily he spoke, "Beauuuuuuu…tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiful… Even as I wilt… I am… I am… BEEEEEAUUUUUTIIIIIIIIIFUUUL!"

"Is that your mantra?" Ray asked. King Croacus dried out with his eyes and lips still twitching.

"K-KING CROACUS!" Just then, Floro Sapiens entered the room to console the loss of their king. "What… WHOA! What did you guys DO? HUH?"

"We plucked your king by the roots… Now, we beseech thee once more to release those poor Cragnons!"

"_SHUT IT!_ You don't get it at all!" The red flower yelled. One of the two yellow flowers joined in.

"King Croacus was awesome! He totally thought of his people first, man! And you… you wilted him…" They could swear he was on the verge of bawling his nonexistent eyes then and there.

"What… What are you talking about?" Tippi asked.

"WATER, MAN! Water! I'm talking about crystal clear sustenance that's vital for life! And those Cragnons were polluting our water source!" When the w-word was spoken, the team dropped their intense faces and immediately stepped back so Rachel could have her moment about telling a certain Cragnon that no one could forget that polluting was wrong.

"**I TOLD THAT CRAGNON NOT TO! ALL THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF HE JUST LISTENED TO ME!**"

"You even told a Cragnon to stop? Right on!" Rachel nearly blushed after calming down as they recognized that she cared for them. "Man, I still can't believe we had to DRINK that crud! So vile, man…"

"That water's what drove our king bonkers, don'tcha get it?"

"So… then… oh, dear…" Tippi felt stupid for letting this happen.

"Of course!" Cragley's voice called out through the door "I knew it all along!" He burst in while saying his trademark catchphrase.

"Emergency special report from the Floro front lines! Environmental pollution drives Floro Sapiens mad! Whither will they rampage?"

"There he goes again…"

"So the villagers throwing garbage in the river was the reason for this whole thing?"

"Yeah!" Rachel and the flowers said in unison.

"Well… I tried to tell those guys, but my thoughts were too far ahead of their time."

"This play well with green Cragnon crowd…" Monzo suggested. "Ratings EXPLODE, brah! It like 'Crags on Ice' meets 'Baron von Craggington'!"

"Yes, once my fellow villagers see this, they'll surely realize the error of their ways."

"Good!" Rachel yelled.

"Shhh!" shushed Phred.

"Once the words of Flint Cragley reach them, they'll throw garbage into the waters no more!"

"Good, 'cause water's easily our most precious treasure, know what I mean?" The yellow flower said. "Here, you promise not to dirty our water and we'll just chill down here and be cool. No pun intended. Oh, and we'll totally take those sprouts off your villagers' noggins too, man."

"Sounds like a fair way to keep the peace in the land… Keep those promises, folks!"

"That was a rather unexpected turn…" Tippi noticed.

"It was a good one, though." Ray whispered to her.

"Ya know, whaling on our king aside, you guys are totally Heroes. You gotta take this!" The 'this' was the indigo Pure Heart.

"Are you serious? Thanks! I mean, we needed it anyway since the world's being destroyed soon and we're trying to counter it and… blah blah blah, you get the rest of the story." Phred told them. The flowers laughed and then gave them the sixth Pure Heart.

The Pixls danced again, making it truly theirs.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**YOU GOT A PURE HEART!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**Men of true grit witness  
live what others can only  
see through crag-visoin.**

**That is what moves me to  
travel into the belly of the  
beast week after week.**

**Thanks again for watching,  
and until the next time…  
CRAAAAAAAAAGLEY HO!"**

**The flowers and even our  
group of Heroes applauded  
his only great monologue.**

**Having wrapped their latest  
shoot, Flint and crew went  
back to Downtown of Crag.**

**Phred and friends clutched  
the sixth Pure Heart as they  
walked back toward Flipside.**

**Our Heroes had taken a new  
step toward overturning the  
prophecy of destruction…**


	35. Convincing

_**SOMEWHERE IN CASTLE BLECK…**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

The scene opened up with O'Chunks and Nastasia alone. O'Chunks was singing off-key what appeared to be a worship song for the count while Nastasia monitored him. After a few verses, Mimi appeared on her pedestal in what most would call a flight attendant's uniform. She wore a blue dress with a hot pink tie and a hat to match.

"Gosh, O'Chunks," she said, "QUIT IT! You're breaking windows! What are you yelling about?"

"Oh that?" Nastasia answered for him, "Yeah, I just had O'Chunks come up with a nice motivational tune." Adjusting her glasses, she continued, "And as a punishment for getting beat by that Hero AGAIN, I'm making him sing it a thousand times."

"A thou-… A th-th-th-th-thousand times? Gosh, you're even more evil than I thought! Well, anywho, I wanna see the count! Where's the count? He hasn't called me to go do anything, and I'm getting SOOOOOOOOO BORED!"

"HEY COUNT?" Mademoiselle I called out while falling to her pedestal. "My destructive little friend is all gassed up and itching to get ba- where is he?"

"Yeah… great enthusiasm, but let's shelve the robot action plan for now, 'K? The thing is, the count kinda left specific orders for us to stand by. Got that?" Mimi became very upset by that.

"No way! We're just supposed to wait here for that big, mean Hero to come get us?"

"So the count doesn't need my services?" Mademoiselle I asked. "Excellent. I'll just be off, then." Nastasia, out of fright, put her hands to her mouth.

"YOU GO NOWHERE!" she ordered, "We wait! It's the count's direct order. His word is absolute! Be a good little minion and DO NOT MOVE UNTIL TOLD! …'K? Thanks." She calmed herself and left.

"But I'm _booooooooored!_"

"Sistron needs her daily SMASH!"

O'Chunks fell asleep while the two distracted Nastasia from watching over him.

Then, Dimentio's voice penetrated the room and O'Chunks' snoring. "Ah ha ha. Hard to stay still when you pine for sweet vengeance, isn't it?" With that, he appeared on his pedestal.

"The count's orders are all absolute…completely without exception, yes? Oh, we shouldn't even dare to think about a secret sneak attack. Perish the thought! Defeating he Hero would please the count greatly… but we _MUST_ follow orders."

His taunts and trickery worked, for both Mimi and Mademoiselle I had something to go do after he said that.

"Ah ha ha. My, my, isn't that something? I believe I should be moving on as well." He disappeared, leaving the slumbering O'Chunks to be.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**Look, Timpani. The stars  
are beautiful, aren't they?**

…**There's a tradition in my  
village. We believe that  
wishes on stars come true."**

"**Oh, is that so? In that  
case we'd better get wishing,  
don't you think?"**

"**I don't need to wish  
anymore."**

"**Mmm?"**

"**I already got my wish.  
Now…I have everything I  
need right here.**

**Timpani… Aren't you cold?"**

"**Not at all. I'm very warm…  
Can we stay like this?  
Just a little longer?"**

**If only they could have...**

**. . .**

**If only they could have.**

**

* * *

Dimentio being... Dimentio by getting everyone to do dirty work for the good ol' count. Typical and we love him for it. Well next, the cast of Heroes gets to place the indigo Pure Heart! But what lurks beyond after they place it in? Only one way to find out... =D**


	36. Indigo Hearts

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Tipps? …Tippi?"

"Are you okay Tippi?"

"Earth to rainbow butterfly! Wake up!"

"Wha—?" As she recovered from her daydream, she realized they stood at the top of the Flipside Tower. Her friends stood in a circle around her with worried faces.

"What's the matter, Tipps? You seemed a little out of it there…" Rachel commented.

"Well… Didn't you just hear something?" She asked everyone. They all said no.

"No? All right, then… It's just that… For a second I thought I had remembered something more important than the other memories… like who the man is and who the girl is. You know… the one I keep remembering?"

They would have commented, but the ground shook.

"The Void…" Tippi said, forgetting her breakthrough. "It looks as though it's gotten bigger."

"Sure does."

"We've got to open the door to the next world quickly," she told everyone. "Let's hurry."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Oh, ho, you're back!" Merlon greeted them in front of his house. They walked over to humor him. "Have you seen the sky lately? The Void continues to grow larger. I imagine that some worlds have already started to decay. It only makes me wonder—"

"—How much longer we have in Flip/Flopside. We know." Everyone said.

"The Light Prognosticus doesn't say anything about how long we have?" asked Tippi.

"The Light Prognosticus was only written to counteract the dark one. As such, it's not truly prophetic, so it's hard to say how long we really have… And yet, I feel confident in saying that we do not have much time at all." The gang rolled their eyes to that.

"I guess we can only go forward now. We can't just wait for all worlds to end, can we?"

"Of course you're right, my dear. Incidentally, I received a message from Nolrem recently. It seems that someone on the outskirts of Flopside has spotted a Heart Pillar. As you're no doubt seeking the next one, that is a good place to start."

"Um… duh?" Ray commented.

"I will go back to the Light Prognosticus to look for clues." He entered his house and the team headed to the nap house to restore their health. Afterwards, they then trudged over to Mirror Hall to pass through Rorrim Hall.

**-*~PPS~*-**

When they all arrived at Nolrem's house, he was not there to greet them. They thought it odd, but cast it aside before he did come out to greet them. They stopped for a minute anyway to talk of where they thought the next Heart Pillar would be.

"Merlon said the outskirts of town, right?" Phred asked everyone. They agreed. "So logically, since this place is mirrored off of Flipside, it would be where Heart Pillar two would be. Right?" They nodded, impressed with his logic. "So what're we waiting for? Let's go."

Phred walked to the front of the Flopside Tower and waited for everyone to grab onto him. When that was said and done, he flipped into 3-D and took them into the outskirts. Someone noticed a puffball looking guy at the far end of town right as they went through the fence only visible in 3-D. That person kept him in mind.

They walked across the 3-D bridge and headed in the opposite direction that Phred and Rachel did when looking for Heart Pillar two. There they found a yellow block. Naturally, they hit it and, naturally, a pipe sprang up. Again naturally, they used it.

**-*~PPS~*-**

After defeating many enemies, exploring a bit and promising to come back after the Pure Heart was placed in the Heart Pillar, and using of Pixls to solve tricks and puzzles, they came upon another yellow block that hid a button from them. Ray stood on it and the Heart Pillar drew itself to existence.

Rachel walked over and touched the pillar. The heart flew up out of her pocket and landed in the heart-shaped hole. The special lines appeared again in a shade of indigo to match the heart. They turned and turned and turned…

**-*~PPS~*-**

Merlee was behind her table gazing at her crystal ball out of boredom. She muttered something quietly and the crystal ball reacted. A picture of the Flipside Tower came into view revealing the newest door of indigo. This pleased her.

Then, something happened. The picture of the door changed to that of an astrological map revealing certain stars due to how small the ball was. A cluster of stars brightly pulsed. She had read about this cluster somewhere, but where?

She turned around to find a book. Finding the one she desired, she flipped through it hastily. She stopped at page 106. She read aloud the only thing she would ever read without rhyme.

"When this particular group of stars, the SPP-36 cluster, starts shining brightly, it is said that the woman, Merlee, shall ask for help of great Heroes in acquiring a new crystal ball because three minutes after the image appears on it, the ball will break. When they return triumphant, the woman shall reward them with a key to a helpful secret and one free charm of their choosing."

She put the book down and looked at the clock above her door. It had only been a minute since it appeared. She waited.

As the third minute came closer, her ball started to go fuzzy. The reception was giving. She gasped and tried many ways to keep the signal. None worked and the ball simply showed the SMPTE color bars usually found on televisions when setting the color. This was not the case; here they represented that the ball no longer worked.

**-*~PPS~*-**

Nolrem was talking to the Heroes as Merlee suffered from a broken crystal ball.

"'At the Duel of the Hundred, the Hero will meet with dark powers of purest chaos. If you fall to the Hundred, the chaos world grows and the Purity Heart fades and as that happens, the Hero will fall to the world where all games are ended.' That's in the section of the LP that Merlon just deciphered."

"It's not very uplifting." Phred commented.

"True. It seems to suggest that if you fail to pass these 'duels', all worlds will perish and, apparently, your lives with the Purity Heart."

"Enlighten me," Ray started, "what's the difference between Pure Hearts and the Purity Heart?"

"The Pure Hearts are merely fragments of the fabled Purity Heart and the Purity Heart is the combination of all eight Pure Hearts that can triumph over the Chaos Heart."

Ray nodded to signal he understood.

"That passage really put a crimp in my awesome mood." Rachel told Nolrem. "Why'd you have to tell us that?"

"I know that what I have just shared with you might only serve to discourage you… but I must send you forth knowing it. It honestly saddens me that I can do nothing else. Good-bye." He walked off. They stood there for moments.

"I have the strangest feeling that someone needs us right now." Phred told them.

"Like who?"

**-*~PPS~*-**

"Oh my dear friends Phred and Co., I am so happy to see y'all so!"

"Merlee? Ohmigod!" Rachel dashed over to hug the enchantress as if she hadn't seen her in forever. "How are you?"

"Rach, it's only been a few hours. Let her breathe."

Merlee thanked Phred for that and also said she was doing well, but also needed a favour in rhyme and invited everyone inside. They followed her and let her speak her peace.

"Oh, you have fine timing! My blood pressure's climbing!  
See, I was hoping maybe for you to do me a big favor. Can you, I implore?"

"Only if it's a small one…" Ray told her. Rachel elbowed him.

"Of course! We'd love to help you."

"Thank you, thank you true! I knew I could count on you!  
During my confusing move, I lost my crystal ball so smooth." She lied.  
"I use a replacement now, but it feels wrong somehow.  
I believe that Merluvlee uses the same type of ball as me…  
Would you go to her and ask for one of her crystal balls real fast?  
You know where Merluvlee is, right? Where the outskirts of Flipside are in sight?"

"We can look where your house mirrors hers." Phred assured.

"Thank you! Thank you true!"

* * *

**Bet you didn't expect _this_! One of the more promising secrets in the game... though it takes up an extra chapter, the reward will come in handy later on.**

_Pfft! Please. I could have taken care of them awake-_

**Shhh, Ray! You'll spoil both surprises for those that haven't played and ignored my remark in the disclaimer at the beginning!**

_It'd be only one if they played through the whole game._

**Only if they didn't help Merlee out. Now go away, I've got the next chapter to edit in the Document Manager.  
To those of you staring at the computer screen going, "What just happened," please just ignore him this time and continue on imagining what could be in the next chapter.**

**Also, for those wondering, the chapter before wasn't meant to be titled "Chapter 35." Who does that? ...the answer is me forgetting to name the chapter. It was supposed to be called "Convincing" in the alert e-mail (granted you get one).**


	37. The Musical Get Quest

**Happy Memorial Day! Now get readin' on to find the treasure!**

* * *

"Hee hee! Heeheehee hee… I have been waiting, Heroes. You want to ask me about a crystal ball?" Merluvlee asked.

"Whoa! How'd you know that?" Rachel asked the teller of the future.

"Oh, there is nothing to fear… I'm Merluvlee! It is my job to know the future! Merlee sent you, did she not?"

"Yes…" Tippi answered.

"I have readied said ball. Please take it." Phred reached a hand out, but Merluvlee did nothing. She thought for a moment.

"Well, I would love to say that, but there's something I must first ask of you. I know I do not look like it, but I am training."

"Training what? Your body?" Ray asked.

"We'll go with that for now. Anyway, I told someone about it, and they said that they had some useful equipment. But I have been so busy that I have not had the chance to pick it up yet."

"Busy doing what? I bet no one's visited you in ages."

"Hush! And you want us to get it for you." Phred told her, piecing the puzzle together.

"Precisely! Now, the kind fellow who offered me the equipment is the Flip Wizard, Bestovius."

"Him? Oh, good Lord…" groaned Tippi.

"Please? It would really help me out if you would agree to—" she coughed. "Excuse me. Would you agree to go to his house and pick it up?"

"Sure."

"Thank you Hero named Phred! When you return with it, it is then that I will gift you with the crystal ball. I believe you recall where Bestovius lives, correct?" Instead, Tippi confirmed the true statement.

"Thank you for your assistance!" she called out as they headed up to the red door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Ahhhhhh… Hero. What need have you of the blindingly brilliant Bestovius?"

"You're not that great…"

"Merlee asked us to ask Merluvlee for a crystal ball and Merluvlee asked us to get some training equipment from you." Phred answered.

"Ah… so you come to ask for the Training Machine in place of Merluvlee? Hmmm… Yes, I know of such a machine. I bet you know that I would never let you bask in the splendor of my knowledge but, well come on, I mean you _are_ the Hero!" He laughed.

Then he got an idea.

"I don't like the look of that face." Rachel whispered.

"Hero… or as there are many of you I am just noticing, Heroes. I have a favor to ask you!" Everyone groaned. "I have lent a certain…something to the mayor of Yold Town, Watchitt." Phred and Tippi exchanged faces of unhappiness. "You must retrieve it for me. I have asked for it back many times and yet the old koot won't return it. It's as if he treasures it! Retrieve this for me, Bestovius, and I shall bestow upon you the Training Machine."

"And what do we call this…something?"

"Simply ask for the 'You-Know-What.' He shall understand. Now, begone!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Hey, where'd Ray go?" Rachel asked as they walked inside. Phred shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the most annoying character in the game.

"Well, it's you…WATCH IT! I was just looking for you! Need you to do something." Rachel and Phred (even Tippi) gave looks of 'not again'.

"…What? You WATCH IT! Don't you give me that 'not again' look! _DUMPLINGS! You listen to me now, y'hear! Open those ears before I box 'em!_"

"This is why he's annoying…" Tippi whispered over to Rachel.

"So here's the thing. This strange lady showed up in my dreams and talked on and on about something. I don't know what, but she needed help with something. She looked real regal like in her blue outfit. And really ancient."

"Merlumina?" Phred gasped.

"Watch it! I don't know what her deal is, but she needs to get outta my dreams. So get off my rug and help her out! Maybe then she'll quit flappin' her lip. If you put a sock in her trap, I'll give you whatever you want."

"Good, because we need a 'You-Know-What' for Bestovius."

He didn't catch that.

"Oh! I almost forgot," he pulled out a piece of blank paper, "I gotta give you this. She's been in my dreams so long, I guess I've become a fan of sorts. So go get her to sign this! Then you know what you can do?"

"Get off of your rug and watch it." Phred and Tippi answered in unison.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"This is a really chilly cavern compared to the other hot ones." Rachel commented.

Then she remembered something. "Oh, yeah, just remembered we leveled up our attack… wow, my mind is really slow today."

"So where's Merlumina?" Phred asked Tippi.

"I suggest we wait…" After a few seconds, she appeared.

"Ahh, Hero…so you have come to me?"

"Where are you?" Tippi asked. She appeared near the ceiling.

"It is I, Merlumina." She floated down and continued the conversation with the Heroes. "It is a pleasure to meet you again, Hero."

"What're you doing here? I thought you were supposed to go back to sleep."

"Well, I had been sleeping for a thousand five hundred years waiting for you to claim the Pure Heart…"

**~*-SPP-*~**

_**The author, like in chapter 7, is cutting out the Merlumina conversation for length. Please do not let this interfere with your reading experience again.**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"…So as I was saying, I just couldn't sleep at all!"

She couldn't, but Phred and his friends could. She took notice and said, "Hey. Are you sleeping?"

They woke up.

"Of course not, Merlumina… Why would you think that?" Tippi responded.

"The Hero's lady friend was snoring. Anyway, people are suffering from insomnia and that doesn't affect you at all? _No one in this millennium has no sense of compassion!_ …sorry. Now, as I was saying…"

**~*-SPP-*~**

_**Once more, the conversation has been cut. Sorry again.**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"…And that's when dozens of people thronged to this place to say their last farewells. And their voices were the lullaby that put me to sleep for a thousand five hundred years."

The gang was sleeping again.

"But now nobody is here, I'm all alone, and I can't get to sleep. It's so lonely!"

Phred and his cohorts started to stir a bit, barely able to understand the last part of her rant. She screamed that they were sleeping again.

"I can't believe you. Honestly… I'm practically wringing my heart out to you and you… you… you just… _**HMMMPH!**_ …Hmm?" she yawned. "All this talking is making me a little drowsy."

"I'm glad to hear it." Rachel commented as she herself yawned.

"And since you've been here, I haven't felt so lonely. Maybe I can get back to sleep now!" She started fading as Phred remembered the now crumpled piece of paper Watchitt gave him.

"Wait!" Phred blurted out before she left.

"_What is it?_ Why are you bothering me now of all times? I'm about to go back to sleep and you just stand there wanting me to talk more!"

"No, it's not that. You've got an admirer. The guy you sent your thoughts to wants your autograph." He quickly said.

"Really? Well, anything for a fan. Just hand me that paper." Phred did so and she pulled out a pen.

"Let's see… I know! 'You're always in my heart! Signed, the fantabulous Merlumina.' And…done!" She handed the paper back to Phred, who tucked it away more safely this time.

"Wait, I forgot something!"

"What?" Phred asked, pulling the paper out.

"I would like to put a kiss on the end there… Mwwwwah! *insert heart here* MUCH BETTER!" She handed it back to Phred officially this time.

"All settled? Good for… I… mu—" she faded into her slumber before she finished. They walked over to the star block and bonked it.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"There's Ray!" Phred noticed as they passed a certain townswoman talking to Ray… who oddly enough had googly eyes. They approached him.

"Ray, what's up?" Rachel asked.

"You gotta listen to this chick!" He said. They did and they knew why he had stayed behind: she talked of Dimentio.

"…Dimentio, this pretty-boy clown. He's got a thing for magic tricks. That's all I know about him. You think they're serious about destroying the world?..."

"C'mon Ray! We've gotta stop them." Ray regretfully obeyed and thanked the woman for talking to him. They continued onto Watchitt's house and entered.

"Hey, you there! That lady up and left my dreams! I can't…WATCH IT! She's not there. And ya can't watch what ya can't watch. It was bad enough to hear her wailing on, but it's worse to see her disappear! _I've got nothin' else to live for in my life! Even whupping folks with my cane has gotten old!_"

"Which is why we brought you the souvenir you asked us to get you." Phred said, grabbing the paper out of his pocket.

"Is this…her autograph? Just look at those curlicues and swoopdedoos in her handwriting! I'm more flustered than the time I dropped a hot griddle in my grunders!"

Everyone: o.o?

"DUMPLINGS! Where was I? Oh, I owe you for helping her. You can take anything I own except my rug."

"We only want the 'You-Know-What' that Bestovius wants back…" Tippi told him.

"EH? YOU WANT _THAT?_ Tarnations, I thought he forgot about that. He better watch it in the future! Fine then. Take it. But you better WATCH IT too!" He handed Phred a CD-ROM.

"That's my cousin… He must have lots of fancy-dancy, hibbly-jibbly wizard hobbies." The gang silently pulled out the Return Pipe and used it before Watchitt knew they left.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Mmmm… So the Heroes return. Did you get the 'You-Know-What' from Watchitt?" Phred handed it to him.

"This pleases Bestovius greatly! 'Tis such a collector's item. I was worried that Watchitt lost it. I'm so relieved.

"Ahem. The Training Machine?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, yes, of course! You seek the Training Machine. Ye of little faith. Take it, Heroes. It would only disturb my sublime energies." He handed them the machine that resembled a Nintendo DS (the true one; not the DS Lite or DSi).

"I, Bestovius, used it once, but upgraded to the newer, sleeker model. I no longer require _that_ piece of ancient history. No pun intended."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Did you pick it up for me?" Phred pulled it out and handed it to her. "This is it! This is it! Now I can train to my heart's content!"

"So… can you tell me what body part now?" Ray asked.

"Oh, certainly. My brain!" there was a pause. "Well, thank you and now I shall give you the last gift of this quest. Here it is, the crystal ball!" Phred received it. "There will be no charge, but tell her this: 'Now we're even.' On that note, take care!"

**-*~PPS~*-**

"Did you get the ball for me? Do I thank you, golly, gee?" Phred took the ball out and handed it to her.

"That's it! That's the one! Ahhhhh… *less than 3* Oh, well done! Thank you! Thanks a ton!  
Well then, let's see, now… I must thank you somehow…  
I guess that there's only one thing I can do for you, hon…" she said, keeping with the prophecy of the astrology book.

"One charm for you! Woo hoo!  
If you want a charm on someone, cross the counter and talk to me, hon.  
Also, I would be remiss if I did not give you this!" She handed Phred a key to some random house to which he knew just the one.

"Well now, 'bye, and how! *less than 3*"

**-*~PPS~*-**

"That was smart of you to get a special curse." Rachel complimented in front of the only locked house. "You still have the key?"

"Of course." Phred answered, pulling it out. He inserted it into the door and the lock clicked. The door was now open. Inside, a giant treasure chest waited, closed. Ray opened it and out popped a Pixl in the shape of a music note.

"**DOODLY-DOO!** The bird, it warbles, TWEET! The bug, it cries, CHEEP! The frog, RRRRRRIBBIT! The dog, GRRRRRROWF! Goats and cars, BLEEEET! All things sing, you see. To live is to make music!"

"This is an awesome Pixl!" Rachel said. "If I didn't already have a soul Pixl, you'd be it."

"Why thank you! My words… Could it be… I've said something poetic? Could it truly be?"

"And you are…?" Tippi asked.

"I am Piccolo! Your footsteps sang to me! CLOP! CLOP! And over again! Yet those sounds are not your everything, your all, your essence! Nope! _I'll show you why!_"

**-*~PPS~*-**

**THE MELODIOUS PIXL NAMED PICCOLO JOINED YOUR GROUP!**

**If you use Piccolo, different music will play depending on the character you use.  
…With some secret powers sprinkled in…**

**-*~PPS~*-**

"Use me to hear sound that matches your character… POCCOLO-COLO! The beat of your spirit… I will find it and play it for you!"

"Thanks. We better head back to Flipside Tower. We've still got those fights ahead of us."

**~*-SPP-*~**

There they stood in front of the indigo door. They cautiously entered.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Under the looming shadow  
of The Void, the world slowly  
drifted toward demise.**

**But not all hope was lost:  
two Pure Hearts had yet  
to be found.**

**Could our daring Heroes find  
them? Or was the world  
doomed to be devoured?**

**Phred, Rachel, and Ray  
ventured through the next  
door to find out…**


	38. Sammer Guy Showdown!

World 6-1: Sammer Guy Showdown!

The first thing everyone noticed when they exited the door was the immense size of The Void. Not the classical Japanese kabuki style construction of the world, no. It was The Void that astounded them most.

"Look at that…"

"My goodness!"

"Whoa!"

"Jesus Christ, that thing's huge!"

"The Void… It's enormous here… Much bigger than it is in Flipside…" Tippi remarked. "This dimension must be very close to destruction… We'd better hurry… We've got a Pure Heart to find."

"I'm with you. C'mon!" Rachel cheered. They didn't get far before a man ran out from the doors they were headed to.

"I YIELD!" He ran right past them and screamed, "I AM SHAMED!" Wondering how he'd get back to Flipside, they entered through the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"So you run, coward. You disgrace your family's honor. Gah! Another unworthy opponent… when will this 'Hero' of legend appear?" wondered a Sammer Guy standing on a stage loudly.

"Phred, they're expecting us… best be on your guard here…" Tippi warned.

"Time is running out and _still_ he/she refuses to show his/her face!" This irked Rachel for some reason. She approached the green samurai and was about to talk to him.

"Rachel, no!" Ray and Phred yelled.

"You stop now, woman!" the samurai yelled.

"No, you stop complaining! You've no idea what we've been through just to get here!"

"Silence your tongue! …You are dressed in the clothes of a crazy. You must be if you wish to challenge me!"

"Bitch, please…I'm from California! I can handle anything you dish."

"Rachel…" Ray whispered.

"SO IT BEGINS! I am known as Jade Blooper, guardian of the 1st gate. 1st of a hundred, mind you. _Prepare for Game Over!_"

"Boomer, sorry but I'm gonna use Crudge." He understood, and both opponents cried out battle cries.

**ROUND 1  
FIGHT!**

Rachel jumped out of the way of his katana and waited in midair to land on his head. She did and he suffered six damage. Phred and Ray silently cheered. They could do nothing else. Jade managed to hit her, cutting part of her shirt.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" She angrily yelled, gripping the parasol even harder, causing some of its paint to start to peel.

None noticed, for she attacked Jade mercilessly.

"AH! You, woman, are stronger than you appear." he mused, brushing himself off. "But still you are no match for-" BONK! While his guard was down, Rachel decided to bash his head with Crudge.

"No fair! I wasn't paying attention." Jade argued. Rachel didn't care and bonked him a second time. He yelled for her to quit it, but only got a third bonk.

"Are you done complaining?" Rachel asked, holding up the hammer.

Jade said nothing. He stared at her... and then ran off to the locked door.

"You coward! Fight back!" She yelled, slightly breaking into a British accent. She ran after him, but was attacked yet again with Jade's katana. He almost missed her, but she didn't back up far enough.

"Ah! Ray, hand me one of your knives." He tossed one to her, catching it expertly. She threw it at him and caused double the damage, making Jade fall over defeated.

"No more, I beg you! Your power is great, challenger."

**GAME SET!**

"Your skills are impressive." Complimented Jade to Rachel. "So, the Hero of legend has finally revealed _her_self. You may go to the next gate."

"Whoa whoa whoa! Wait up a minute! My friends are Heroes too! And what's with the business of the battles and gates and stuff?" Rachel asked.

"Yes… What is going on here?" Tippi asked.

"An excellent question, my dear!" Called a voice from behind Jade. A royal likeness stood closest to the door that allowed the Heroes to proceed. His head looked like a crown; he had a moustache and a goatee. He wore robes of red, blue, white, and gold.

"But first, I must applaud you for that splendid demonstration of valor and determination! Such a rousing spectacle of martial artistry!"

"Thanks! So… who're you?"

"INSOLENCE!" Jade screamed. "Show respect, bitch! You stand before King Sammer, ruler of the Sammer Guys!"

"…you better mean a female dog." Was all Rachel managed to say without showing rage.

"I do." Jade replied. Rachel sighed and let King Sammer continue.

"Your unusual fighting style brings me amusement to no end! And as a reward for your victory, I shall allow a glimpse of my treasure… Behold!" He pulled out a violet Pure Heart for three seconds.

"The Pure Heart!" Everyone shouted in desire.

"Indeed. It is the pride of the kingdom! If you desire it – which I'm sure you do – then prove your worth by defeating my loyal vassals in a tournament!"

"All hundred of them?" Ray asked. "If you haven't noticed, this place is next in line for destruction! Don't delay us with fights."

"SILENCE PIG!" Jade commanded. "King Sammer has spoken!"

"Thank you. **Vassals, to me!**" The king called. As soon as he said that, ninety-nine diverse Sammer Guys appeared surrounding the Heroes, Jade, and King Sammer.

"HAIL SAMMER!"

"HAACKAW!"

"ONE HUNDRED STRONG!"

Each Hero gulped.

"These are my vassals. Should you best them all, you will prove you are the _true_ Heroes. Yes, I repeat, I shall reward you with a Pure Heart if you beat my other ninety-nine Sammer Guys!"

"KING SAMMER HAS SPOKEN!"

"Great…"

"Begone, Sammer Guys, and move to your tournament positions!" With that, they all left as quickly as they came in.

"HACHAW!"

"I'm sure I'll be on the edge of my throne throughout this thrilling tournament!"

"Try saying 'throughout this thrilling tournament' three times fast…" Ray whispered to no one in particular.

"I eagerly await your arrival at the palace. The tournament has begun… Let skill decide!" he quickly departed so he could reach his throne before the Heroes did.

"So the king will give us the vio—"

"YES!"

"Just making sure…" Tippi said. "Well, we better get fighting."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"We're live at the Brekon's household. I'm Anita Brigens here with the full scoop with what's been happening these past few hours. Miss Brekon, please explain what happened."

The Brekon house was a mad house right then. Since The Void growing larger every time the team came back from a chapter, most of the world started to panic. In fact, the world was so frightened, that schools everywhere called and left messages saying that there would be no need for the students to finish their summer homework.

The sun had just set in California, and even so the purple Void could be seen; it lit itself with its occasional lightning bolts.

Anita Brigens, as she named herself, stood next to Emiloy pointing a microphone in front of her. Miss Brigens worked for the local news station and in this instance would be seen world wide in a spectrum of different languages.

"I'd be glad to tell you! It started this morning when Ray and his friends put this video game in. I was in the kitchen making popcorn at the time, so I didn't see who the perpetrator was. But somehow, the kids got in the game and this weird villain wed my children forming this black heart."

"Black heart, you say?"

"Yes. Then after I selected a file to play, all the details were revealed."

"Would you mind explaining them to the world?"

"Of course not! The purple void in the sky is called The Void. Phred, the blond one, is the main 'Hero of Prophecy' as they refer to him and is helped by the other two, my children Ray and Rachel. They're looking for special hearts called Pure Hearts and journey through different worlds to get them."

"And where are they now, Miss Brekon?"

Emiloy turned to see that they were on battle number fourteen already.

"They're in some Japanese land and are fighting to get to the seventh Pure Heart."

"Are they anywhere close?"

"No… but we can only hope."

"I meant collecting every Pure Heart."

"Oh. Yes, they're pretty close. I mean there _are_ only eight after all."

"Thank you, Miss Brekon."

"Oh, please! Call me Emiloy."

"Will do, Miss Brekon. Now, let's move on to—" The ground shook as she was about to put the microphone in front of Danile.

"There's a development! Let's watch… Harvy, point the camera at the television screen!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"What's going on?" Rachel asked.

"The Void!" Ray replied. Indeed, the Void was the cause of the shaking. It grew.

"The Void has grown larger… we have to hurry!" Tippi yelled worriedly.

"Hurry? Why not pause and savor the show?" a maniacal voice called from above.

"Wait… that voice… I—" Tippi was cut short, for Count Bleck flipped into view to further taunt the Heroes.

"It is already _far_ too late to stop…Count Bleck!" he said.

"Bleck! What're you doing here?" Rachel asked loudly. He laughed.

"The Prophecy unfolds smoothly, thanks to the Chaos Heart. The light of each world will be snuffed out one by one…"

"Why would you want to do something so…unspeakable?" Tippi asked somewhat calmly. Though her voice quavered. _Could… Could it be? It can't be true! Blumiere…_

"You QUESTION Count Bleck? HOW DARE THEE! Besides, this world's destruction matters not! 'Tis a stupid world anyway." The big Sammer Guy took offence, but had the smarts not to attack.

"Far better for Count Bleck to wipe it out of existence than let it remain!"

"How can you say that?" Tippi hollered. "That's…horrible!"  
_No, it really isn't him… _he_ cared about the world…_

"Count Bleck scoffs at you! An insignificant Pixl lectures Count Bleck on what is right and wrong?"  
_This girl… she acts like Timpani herself… but no. Timpani was a human, not an ungrateful Pixl! Besides, Timpani is long gone so says my father._

"This is not up for discussion! You're wrong…and sick! _ALL_ living things have a heart! They're priceless… You can't just erase them!"

"Of all things, you defend the heart? Nothing is more worthless!"  
_Could this really be…? Timpani always defended the heart… No! It can't be…  
_"All things are meaningless. Aside from…" his throat dried up, yet he managed to say 'Timpani' in the cold, dwindling air, "no treasure mattered in the least to me…" This struck Tippi hard.

"…Tim…Timpani?"  
_Oh, my God, it is him… Blumiere, how could you?_

Tippi started to tear up.

"Now look what you did! You made Tipps cry!" Phred yelled.

"SPEAK NO MORE! This world **will** die under the monocled gaze of Count Bleck! Let this not stop you from trying to get the Pure Heart you will never acquire!" He laughed his trademark laugh and left.

Silence.

"Oh, dear…" Tippi finally said.

"WORLD GOES SQUISH SOON!" The guardian of gate twenty exclaimed. "MUST TELL KING SAMMER! MUST NOT ACCIDENTALLY SQUISH KING AGAIN…" With that, he ran off as fast as he could.

"We better hurry too." Ray said.

Five more gates (without fighting, but with rumbling every few yards of so) and they found the star block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**With The Void encompassing  
the entire sky, the end of  
the world was at hand.**

**The pressure was on for the  
Heroes to find all the  
remaining Pure Hearts.**

**Would regal King Sammer be  
willing to part with his  
most precious treasure?**

**Leaving an army of Sammer  
Guys in his wake, Phred  
stepped into the palace…**


	39. The End of a World

**Originally, this chapter was a mere 949 words. I'm glad I made it somewhat longer.**

* * *

World 6-2: The End of a World...

"Splendid! The Heroes have arrived!" The all too familiar voice of King Sammer proclaimed as the Heroes approached him. "We received word of your nasty run-in with that despicable Count Bleck fellow. So the legends ARE true… Our ancestors truly _did_ foretell these days."

"Your Royal Highness… we're in a hurry, so give us the Pure Heart!"

"But you haven't defeated all one hundred of my men… yet the situation is grave." He bit his lip in thought.

Phred noticed something when he said that. _Last chapter, he called his army nothing but 'his vassals' and 'my Sammer Guys,' never 'his men'. Something sneaky's up._

"Oh, why not! Just for royal giggles. The treasure sits on the 26th gate."

"Thank you…" Tippi thanked. They stepped onto the stage and noticed the treasure chest. It looked a bit small for a Pure Heart, but Rachel opened it anyway. What she found wa-

"This isn't the Pure Heart, it's a bomb!" she shouted, readying to run.

Before they could, it exploded. Remarkably, it did no damage. Everyone sighed in relief, since they were running out of healing products.

The king, however, was not pleased with this.

"But… But… That explosion didn't even turn you black with soot! That totally didn't even hurt you at all! THIS STINKS!" Mimi's voice came through instead of the king's. The disguised girl flipped onto the stage.

"So you though you'd just grab the Pure Heart?"

"Um… Yeah. Rachel, who is this freak?" Ray asked.

"FREAK? I am the beautiful and UNFREAKY Mimi. SURPRISE~!" King Sammer transformed into the one and only Mimi. This time, she wore a snow-white kimono with gold and red decorations. Her hair-ties were red flowers.

"You!" Both Phred and Rachel shouted, eyes wide.

"You silly heads are so silly! Did you crazies think that King Sammer would _give_ you the Pure Heart? He's probably tucked all cozy in a bed taking a nap in the castle making cute li'l snoring noises while his world goes bye-bye!"

"Talk about bratty, little, and devious." Ray whispered.

"Get out of the way, Mimi! We've not the time to battle you!" Rachel told her.

"You **dummies**! The only reason I'm even here is to get in your way! NIGHTY-NIGHT!"

She floated upwards and summoned Rubees to surround her. She also flipped into 3-D.

"Oh, great! Now what?" Ray asked on the sidelines again. Phred looked over and shrugged his shoulders. He looked back to see Mimi hurling the ruby gems at Rachel - who was crouched under the parasol - giving her no chance to attack.

This was by far the hardest battle she fought so far. Rarely, Rachel would get rid of Mimi's barrier and rarer still would she actually flip to 2-D giving her the chance to attack. It was only twice and five minutes apart...

"Haha, you big meanie can't even hurt me! I wanna see you at least try before this place goes kablooey."

"What do you mean by that?" Tippi asked as Rachel ran away from rising Rubees coming from the floor.

"Why would I tell you, you dummy-winged thing? You'd probably just use it to get back with the count! ...At. With or at? I- OW! You big cheap meanie!" Rachel just blushed with success from hitting Mimi.

She quickly went back to 3-D.

Some two minutes later, Merlee's charm came into effect, which summoned a wheel and a bunch of items. As it slowed, a normal Shroom Shake appeared in the window. That's what they won.

Rachel nearly gave up when she saw that Mimi wasn't coming back to 2-D. Phred and Ray were getting worried too because Rachel was getting hit a bit too often. With their already small choice of Shroom Shakes and other healing items, they couldn't risk a Game Over. Not at this point.

That's when Phred started looking for an attack item. He finally found one; their ace in the hole: the Shooting Star.

"Great idea Phred, but I'm not sure if it will hit her in the third dimension..." Tippi remarked.

"Only one way to find out." Ray grabbed it out of Phred's hand and used the item. From the sky, orange stars started falling down and hit only Mimi. It dealt major damage to Mimi, making her instantly defeated.

"Wow... I stand corrected..." Tippi muttered.

"**OUCHIE!**" Mimi screamed as she fell to the wooden stage. "That really hurt!"

"Good!" They all yelled, including Tippi.

"You guys are nothing more than a big bunch of bullies who hit cute little girls! But it doesn't matter an eensy teensy bit, hee hee! Everything's perfect!"

"How?"

"Do I need to spell it out for you? Look in the sky, meanie-heads!" The ground rumbled again, and The Void grew once more.

"The Void… it's gigantic now!" Tippi moved closer to Phred, who took her in his arms... arm.

"That's what you were talking about earlier." Rachel stared at the green child blinking wildly.

"Mimimimimimimimimimimi! Yep, I sure got you meanies to waste LOTS of your precious time! Guess you'll have to give up looking for that dumb Pure Heart now!"

"You brat! You were just stalling us!" Ray yelled.

"Golly, you guys have really got your thinking caps on today, huh?" Ray wanted to strangle the little green girl for that. "I did warn you I was meaner than the count! Anyhow, it's sure a big old bummer I can't stay to play more with you guys, but this place is about to go bye-bye! Later, meanies!" She flipped out.

"C'mon! We've gotta beat The Void!" said Rachel.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Gate thirty-one and the rumbling didn't cease this time.

"HAHAHA. We are doomed. It cannot be stopped. HAH HAH." The guardian claimed. The Void grew for the last time and flashed twice.

"HAH HAH HAH. **HAH HAH HAH.**" He ran off.

"We-We're not gonna make it…" Rachel moaned.

"No… Not like this…" Tippi quivered. The Void flashed twice again, and all fell to it's impending death.

From the other side of the television screen, Emiloy could be heard sobbing.

**~*-SPP-*~**

. . . . . . . . . . . !

"Count Bleck," Tippi said while the screen remained black. "It is you." The screen revealed everyone lying on the floor of the Flipside Tower. The Void had grown in Flipside as well.

"But… grrr… The memories don't piece together… I don't look like the girl I keep seeing with what looks like the count… But then again, why are the names Blumiere and Timpani _so_ familiar? Think Tipps, think! The worlds could be at stake because of this memory..." She didn't get much time, for one by one each Hero stirred.

Phred first.

"Phred!" Tippi turned to face him, determined to explain everything that she had thought about. "You realize-"

She didn't finish and also lost her train of thought, for the other two woke up.

"Urgh… What happened?" Ray asked, interrupting.

"I'm a little discombobulated myself, so it's hard to say… But I can safely say that we're back in Flipside. Somehow..."

"What about the Sammer Guys and King Sammer?" Rachel asked. "And the Pure Heart?"

Tippi thought, but then noticed the door. It was still there! But... why?

She fluttered in front of it and said, "The door leading to that world still exists, it seems… I wonder. I think we should risk it and go back to look for the Pure Heart."

"Are you crazy? We don't know what's behind there!"

"Ray's right, Tipps. But… I believe in you." Ray's jaw dropped.

"Uh… well, can we at least rest up first and then come back?" Rachel asked, obviously tired from fighting.

Everyone took one look at her and agreed. They rode the elevator down and took a quick cat nap at Tinga's inn.

A few minutes later, they reentered the indigo door wondering just what would be found beyond in that destroyed world. What they did was nothing they ever expected...

* * *

**I can just see Rachel running away from the Rubees wave with her hands in the air, screaming at the top of her lungs as Mimi and the Heroes (plus Tippi) just stare at her. XD Oh, love ya Rach!**

_What? Sorry, spaced out..._

**Oh! Uh, never mind. Just... uh, go back to... whatever you were doing.**


	40. Shattered Hope for All

**You may or may not have noticed, but I changed my pen name from Xaviar Ignatious Victraun-XIV- to Author XIV for simplicity. Just thought that I'd announce that I am still me. :)**

**Oh, and happy summer! **

* * *

World 6-1

A blank canvas. And that's all that would be. Just white and a black line for the horizon.

"There's…nothing left." Tippi managed to get out.

They had been standing where the door let them off for nearly ten minutes. They all stared out at the nothingness in disbelief. How had it been kept like that - a white expanse stretching out for miles and miles? Wouldn't the Void have completely destroyed it without leaving the world?

That's what they thought, but instead the Void had left it. But... _why?_

"This can't be the beautiful and stupid-hard world we were in before." Rachel said as tears formed. Phred put his hand on Rachel's shoulder who bent her head down on it.

"Wait!" Tippi suddenly blurted out. Rachel and Phred spun around. "I can feel… it's very, VERY faint, but I _think_ it's the Pure Heart!"

"I can't believe it." gasped Phred.

"Let's go look!"

"Not to burst your bubble," said Ray from behind, "but does the song 'A Thousand Miles' come to mind? I mean have you looked at how far this goes?"

"We can use Carrie!" Rachel suggested. "I don't think she objects to us using her along with you, do you?" From under Ray's feet, Carrie said, "Not at all." They all hopped on and headed forward.

"_**A Thousand Miles" Later…**_

"I can feel it! …Actually, I can see it." Tippi finally announced.

There, a few feet away, was the Pure Heart.

"It's all stoney and not... pure." Rachel said.

"Could… Is that really what's left of the Pure Heart?"

"But how?"

"Somehow… It seems impossible, but _somehow_ it survived! And yet… it has lost its purity, its color, its splendor. It's odd."

"You know what else is odd? This world!" A feminine voice that Ray recognized (as did Rachel and Phred) said. "It's pretty bland now, isn't it?"

"Mademoiselle I?" They asked in unison. Indeed, the evil Ieda fell from the sky in front of the Stone Heart. She turned to it and asked, "Heyyy, what's going on here? Looks like your Pure Heart got broken. I guess even Pure Hearts can't stand the end of the world. Heh... Quaecumque. I'll swipe it for kicks!" Never before had Ray wanted to say 'Swiper, no swiping!' three times in a row. Instead, he found himself walking forward.

"Freeze!" She yelled as Ray closed in on her. "Oh, aren't you one sexy beast? This kinda place is not one for someone like you, ya know."

"Ieda," he started, ignoring her pitiful one-liner, "it's me, Ray! You've gotta snap outta it and help us! Please…" She changed the subject immediately.

"How 'bout that Prognosticus! Anything the count doesn't like… POOF! It never existed."

"You'll be next if you're not careful…" Tippi muttered. Luckily, Ray didn't hear that.

"Look, it's been nice chit-chattin' with ya, but I gotta run. Just stay outta the count's business if you wanna live."

There was a pause between the forces of good and evil.

"You of all people would've felt something like remorse over the fall of an entire world." Ray told her. "Bleck's just using you 'til the time comes where all the worlds are gonna be destroyed."

"Enough! You're thinking like Dimentio now! I can't stand him… Look, if you want a fight, a fight you'll get! I'm not one to disappoint."

"No, we—"

"SISTRON LAUNCH!" A robot with the same looks and basic features of the first Sistron crashed through the paper background. Mademoiselle I continued to gloat about the newer version as it landed behind her.

"Just check this thing out! This bad girl is sporting the latest in sistronics! Meet my new sister… _**SISTRON TYPE-I!**_ Note that the I isn't a Roman numeral." She jumped in and grabbed the control sticks.

"Ray, you might wanna stand back." Rachel asked. He did.

"The Blue Typhoon destroys like hurricanes! Oh, and Ms., try not to get too bubbly as I trounce! HAVE AT YOU!"

Rachel jumped onto the robot's glove and dealt six damage to it. She jumped higher onto the brim of its hat and dealt another six. Again, she jumped higher and landed on the head, dealing another six. After jumping on it for about seven times, Rachel decided to get fancy with her moves.

She successfully stuck out four stylish moves before she fell off the top of the head. She tried to get back on immediately, but couldn't. Sistron opened her mouth and started to suck Rachel in. She fell victim and was chewed on by the robot. Rachel landed on her stomach when the robot spit her out.

"Ooow."

"Rachel! You all right?" She got up.

"Yeah… Just got the wind knocked outta me is all. I'm gonna try again." She ran towards the robot and successfully repeated what she had done earlier. This time, she stayed on top 'til the mechanical warrior blew up. Mademoiselle I screamed something, but the explosion drowned it out.

She fell to the floor and regained her senses quickly. She didn't realize she dropped the Stone Heart, though.

"Preposterous!" She yelled. "Why? _Why can't I win?_"

"Well…" started Tippi, "It might be because you're weak."

"Normally, I'd be REALLY angry with you, Tipps, but circumstances are preventing me."

"Is that a good sign? Ray not being angry with me?" Tippi asked Phred.

"That's the start of the Apocalypse."

"Too late for that then…" Tippi joked.

"Quite finished, impudent fools?" The evil adolescent asked.

"Yeah." Rachel said. Mademoiselle I took that chance to flee.

"Look!" Tippi said, staring at the Stone Heart. "She must have dropped it as she ran off."

"There's no sparkle left… how sad." Rachel said.

"Let's take it back to Merlon. He'll know what to do." Suggested Phred.

"Did you just suggest we consult Merlon, Phred?" Tippi asked.

"Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides, I want to ask him something."

With that he picked it up and pocketed it.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**YOU GOT A STONE HEART!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

**The destruction of an  
entire world was a great  
and terrible tragedy.**

**But Phred and his allies had  
survived the cataclysm and  
found another "Pure" Heart.**

**The end of that world had  
dulled the shine of the "Pure"  
Heart they had found.**

**Was the "Pure" Heart's power  
lost forever?**

**The Heroes set out for  
Flipside to find out…**

**

* * *

**

"**BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE." Author XIV claimed in an epic Billy Mays voice.**

**

* * *

**

"I don't know what it is about those guys, but I just can't seem to beat them!" The tired Mademoiselle cried, still in the blank world of the Sammer Guys.

"Ah ha ha. Did they wound your fragile pride, my French named maiden? Demolish your poor little robot again?" called the charming voice of Dimentio from the shadows. He appeared in front of the broken girl.

"Oh, it's you again, Dimentio… Gosh, I'm stumped. You'd think a giant robot would be enough to crush these Heroes…"

"Go on."

"I'm a disgrace. I mean, there's no way I can show my face to Count Bleck after _this_."

_Bingo! Just the words I've been waiting for…_ "Perhaps that is for the best." The jester conjured up a magic fire to burn evil Ieda. Luckily, she evaded it last second. Scared, she asked, "Whoa, now! What're you doing?"

"You said it yourself. You can't go back to the count now… So get lost!" She paused.

"…So not a funny joke, Dimentio! If I wanted to laugh, YOUR FACE is inspiration enough!"

"Oh, such temper! Your nostrils, they flare out like the hood of a hissing cobra! We can't have you around the count and if I am rid of you here, I won't be found out. And the others will never find you. Yes, this is my moment to grasp! I'm not taking any chances with you." He formed a box around her. "It is time for your final bow, Mademoiselle I."

"Hey, now! Wh-wh-what's going on? YOU'VE LOST YOUR MIND DIMENTIO!" She screamed. Dimentio barely heard her.

"Ah ha ha ha ha. Shhhhh." He tried to calm her with tactics used with three-year-olds. "Don't worry! It won't be so bad, I promise. I plan to send some playmates soon. In the meantime, ciao to you and your ridiculously long name!" He snapped his fingers and there were explosions inside the box. When they subsided, the box and Mademoiselle I were gone.

"Yes… Ciao, Ieda." He disappeared.

* * *

**Dimentio knows Ieda's name... whaaaa? Just what is everyone's favourite court jester playing at? *puts hand on chin and rubs* Hmmmmmm...**

**But I bet even he doesn't know what's coming Monday! XD But do YOOOU?**


	41. The Count Seems Different Somehow

_**SOMEWHERE IN CASTLE BLECK…**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Yeah, so just got a quick ping from Dimentio? We've had a little insubordination. Yeah, according to his report, our newest recruit took on a hero-fighting initiative and I accept full responsibility. It was my administrative breakdown that allowed this." Nastasia informed.

"I see, remarked Count Bleck… Well, what is done is done. This prophecy will not be fulfilled without sacrifice." Nastasia expressed no emotion and simply continued her update with the count.

"So, 'K… Um , and just another quick update on Mimi… Yeah… She, um, also left the castle."

"Did she now?" he asked, somewhat astonished. "Well, Count Bleck will leave you to dispense the minion discipline."

Nastasia sensed something… something was troubling the dear, old count and she wanted to know what.

"Count… Um, you seem…a bit different. New monocle? Or did… did something happen?" The count turned away and reassured that he felt fine.

"Oh, um, of course, yeah… Please excuse me." Bowing, she left. This left the count to think with his hat tipped.

"…That Pixl can't have been dear Timpani. But… no! Completely impossible. I should know better than anyone. Still, she… No." This butterfly Pixl, whoever she was, simply confused the count to no end.

"Besides. It's far too late to do anything now. The Dark Prognosticus' prophecy has been set in motion and no one – not even I – can stop it." For dramatic effect, he repeated the last part of that sentence as he flipped out.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**Timpani! What did you do  
with her? I must see her!"**

"**Still your tongue, Blumiere…  
Can't you see you've been  
duped by a dirty human?**

**You have brought shame  
to my name…and to the  
entire Tribe of Darkness!"**

"**And so what if I did?  
That doesn't matter to me!  
She was-**

**No...**

**_is _my entire world!"**

"**Well, then it will interest  
you to know that she no  
longer resides in this world."**

"**What… What do you mean  
by that?"**

"**This is the price those  
who resist their own fate  
must pay, my son."**

"**She… No… It can't be so!"**

"**Someday you will see, son.  
Our kind and humans must  
never mix."**

**

* * *

Dear Yahweh, this was only as long as a year... that's 365 words people! (well, before editing...) DX Because of that - and another reason that's in the next chapter - I'm posting the next chapter. On we go!**


	42. Dimentio's Doing

***humming something that sounds like "Happy Birthday"***

_Psst! Genius, you're on._

**Wha-? Oh, hey there! Sorry, I was distracted from the last chapter. Anyway, here you go. An expansion of today's totally awesome update!**

* * *

"Ooh, that should be useful!" Rachel said as she spotted a Life Shroom on the shelf of the local grocery store.

"Rach, it's a hundred coins!" Tippi complained.

"So what? We've got, like, eight hundred coins! I'll take two." Rachel declared to Tippi and the sales clerk.

"Hey, we could use some Shroom Shakes. There's one called a Long-Last Shake…" Ray bought two Shroom Shakes and one Long-Last. Ray dropped a can.

"Oh, I'll get it for you." Rachel told him. "Here, hold the parasol."

He took it out of her hand as she bent down and he noticed the D on the side of it. After closer examination, he noticed the paint peeling off.

"Rach, you're umbrella's paint job is fading. And have you seen this intricately designed D on the side?"

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that. Why?"

"That's where the paint's fading. I think it's covering up something like—" Rachel side tracked from Ray's thought as she handed him the can he dropped.

"Hey, remind me where Phred went." Rachel asked Tippi.

"He wanted to do something over in Flopside… He said he saw someone that looked helpful earlier…" As she said that, everyone felt their coin purse lighten a ton… or about three hundred coins.

"Okay, what just happened?" Rachel asked frightfully. No more than two minutes later did Phred show up in the shop.

"Phred, what happened? We suddenly lost three hundred coins…" Tippi informed.

"I know. There was this puffball named Weldenburg. He built a pipe from Flopside to Flipside for efficiency! It came at a price though, which is the three hundred coins we no longer have."

"How's the pipe?" Ray asked.

"Like a well oiled machine. Well, all done shopping?"

"Pretty much… We merely bought the essentials… Shakes and Shrooms."

"Well, let's go to Merlon then." They agreed and walked about one house over to talk to Merlon. Luckily, he was in and free to talk with.

"Oh ho! The Heroes return! Do tell, do you have the seventh Pure Heart?"

"Erm… sorta." Rachel answered.

"What kind of an answer is 'sorta'? Either you did or you did not!"

"Rachel's right… Maybe you should take a look at it, Merlon…" Tippi defended. Phred took the Stone Heart out.

"Mmm… Hmm? What… What happened to it?"

"The grey Void in the sky sucked the world of its life along with the Pure Heart thing." Ray answered as best he could.

"Ray, it's a shade of violet…" Rachel whispered to her color-blind sibling.

"And all that was left was this weird expanse of only white and the Stone Heart. Which reminds me, how come the world stayed? I mean, I'd imagine that everything would be destroyed and I mean everything."

"Phred," Merlon paused as he sighed. Hanging his head he continued, "the reason that world was spared from utter and complete destruction was because the Pure Heart sacrificed itself to keep it from dying. I picked this up from the Prognosticus: the Purity Heart's pieces were placed in each of the worlds as a fallback so that if the world was sucked in by the Void, it wouldn't be totally removed from existence."

"Wait a minute. Since we're collecting the Pure Hearts, doesn't that mean we're taking away what would keep their world alive barely?" Rachel asked intrigued.

"Essentially, but by doing so we would be strengthening the force that would take down the Chaos Heart plus prevent the worlds from being put in this type of situation again."

"And if we fail, they'll just disappear totally." Ray whispered to himself.

"So back at the Sammer Guy world, we just had really bad timing?" Phred asked. "What with-"

"No no, really _good_ timing! Now that the world was saved by the Pure Heart, it can't possibly be harmed any more by the Void."

"What I was going to say was now that the Pure Heart's made of stone."

"You do possess some sort of point, Phred... even if you do place it into a Heart Pillar, it would do nothing. Oh, what to do?" The gang shrugged their shoulders.

"Oh…" Tippi burst out suddenly, "But then how do we save him— er, I mean, everyone… from destruction?" She recovered smoothly.

"To stop this prophecy, we must defeat Count Bleck, who started all of this… and to do so, we need all eight Pure Hearts. Or at least so says the Light Prognosticus. We're between a rock and a hard place." A dead silence filled the air… but not for long.

"Ah ha ha. The forlorn group of Heroes, how they cry! The tears flow like sad chowder!" the unmistakable voice of Dimentio called out. He appeared above Rachel's head.

"D-Dimentio? What are you doing here?" Rachel yelled looking up.

"Oh, bad news for you. There's not way _in __**this**__ world_ to restore the Pure Heart… Yes, sadly, your hard work was all…in…vain."

"Surely you can't be serious!"

"I am - don't call me Shirley! - and this is exactly why I have decided to give you a consolation prize." Before anyone could act to stop Dimentio, he formed boxes around all three human Heroes. With the snap of his gloved fingers, the boxes exploded and when it stopped, the space was vacant.

"What…just happened?" Merlon asked, shaking in his cloak.

"PHRED? RACHEL? RAY?" Tippi floated down close to the floor where the Heroes once stood. "PHRED! Where'd you go, Phred? I demand answers, Dimentio!"

"Oh, it's quite simple," Dimentio said as he stooped down to Tippi's level, "I fulfilled their wishes! I sent them to the next world! Ah ha ha. You do know who I am, right? I am your enemy, Dimentio! I serve Count Bleck! Why would I not pull a stunt like this?"

"But did you have to kill Ray? He was totally loyal to the greater good AND YOU! You could have at least spared _him!_" Tippi angrily thought out loud. Dimentio thought not about the subject and started to leave.

"Well, as pleasant as this has been, I must leave. Ciao – what was it? – Tipps."

The nickname no longer gave Tippi the rush of happiness it once had. Now, it brought sadness. Before she could remark on his usage of the name, Dimentio left in his standard mode of leaving, leaving both her and Merlon still shaken and surprised.

"It…can't be… Phred… No…" She fell to the floor.

* * *

**What a way to celebrate my birthday! Wait, did I say birthday? Yes I did! *super excited face* I don't wanna bore you guys with what I got, so I'll just end here by reminding everyone that isn't CaHF to review if they like or don't.**

**And I say that because I know you know to review, CaHF. You don't need a reminder! ;D**


	43. The Search for Luvbi

World ?-?: The Search for Luvbi

Subtitle: "Now that I'm in Hell, how do I get back?"

_Owww… What did he do?_ Phred thought as he lay on the ground, eyes still closed. He had not the strength to move, yet barely enough to think and ask questions. Dimentio winged him pretty badly, no question about it. He wondered if his friends were all right. He wondered how Tippi was doing, if Merlon and Nolrem were worried sick about every world's fate, and what was poking his cheek so much.

That particular question gave him all the energy he needed to stand up. As he did, he brushed the char marks off him. He was burned slightly in a few places, but nothing serious and nothing painful. His eyes adjusted to the darkness of this strange… Phred didn't know what to call it. In order to find a name for this place, he looked around.

The ground covered itself with many jagged rocks (the source of cheek-poking), small stalactites hung from the ceiling, a few blades of pink and green grass sprouted up in scattered parts of the ground, mountains filled the blue-ish green background, and there was a large fountain filled with an orange liquid in front of him a few yards away.

"HI THERE!" A strange, dead sounding voice yelled to Phred making him jump into a scared pose. A black creature approached. Its eyes were white and pulsed one after another, it had a white zigzag mouth, and it was outlined with white lines. Phred couldn't believe he had let this harmless being scare him so; he lowered his defenses and said hi back to it.

"Hey, new face! So tell me… this your first time down here in the Underwhere?"

"The… Underwhere? What's that?" He asked, unknowingly answering the question. It laughed.

"You're kidding right? Man, for a guy with no extra lives, you're sure hilarious! Isn't it obvious? This is where people go when their games are OVER! Some even have the audacity to call it 'World -1'. Actually, funny story about that name. Y'see-"

"So this is Hell?"

"Huh? Oh, pretty much! Anyway, so how'd your game end? Poison 1-Up? Bad jump? Or did someone—"

"The short version is that a clown blew me and my friends to smithereens… here, take a look at these burn marks." Phred showed it his arm; it gawked.

"Pretty powerful clown."

"And to top it all off, I'm not actually dead! I'm still quite alive."

"What? You say your games NOT over? Hahahaha! Yeah. I've heard _that_ before. You, sir, are in denial. It's always first… You know, maybe you should talk to Queen Jaydes."

"Queen who?"

"Jaydes. She's the scariest thing in the Underwhere…and that is saying something. She also rules over us Shaydes and can tell you if your game's really over or not."

"Thank you, I'll do just that. Where is she?"

"Over at the other side of the Underwhere. Can't miss it."

"That's helpful." Phred muttered sarcastically as he left.

Another Shayde stood in front of the fountain mentioned earlier. Phred decided to take a dip and, to his astonishment, he recovered his health.

"Why would someone put this in the underworld?" He mused. He didn't linger on that too long, for he started to feel the chill of the liquid. He jumped out and entered through a nearby door.

**~*-SP_-*~**

"Doo bi doo bi doo!"

"Who's there?" Phred asked. "Show yourself!" No one appeared, but Phred did look around and found what looked like an angel singing on top of a pipe. She held herself with crossed arms.

"Ohhh me… I wonder if I shall meet my most special someone this day? Surely he is a prince of countenance fair, pining even now to mete me," she thought as she unfolded her wings that acted as arms. "Quickly, my loving prince! Fly to me!" She looked down to Phred, who awkwardly waved up to her with a silly grin. She became angry.

"Pray, what call hast thou to stare at me so?"

"Just getting a feel for the folks here, sheesh."

"Did thou hear me pine for an ordinary, blond twig? BEGONE!"

"Suit yourself. I'm taken anyway." And with that, Phred continued on to Queen Jaydes.

**~*-SP_-*~**

_**LATER AT QUEEN JAYDES' THRONE…**_

**~*-SP_-*~**

Queen Jaydes was a woman of high stature… literally. She practically towered over Phred (her purple hat added to her height). She wore a dress of purple and black with polka dots. The bottom of the dress curled inwards; her dress was buttoned up with gold diamonds. Her skin was a shade of light lavendar.

"Excuse me, but are you—"

"Queen Jaydes: Mistress of the Underwhere and ruler of those with ended games? I am, indeed my strapping young fellow. What business have you with me?"

"Um, why am I here?"

"Why are you-? 'Tis an idiotic question that deserves no answer!"

"Okay, okay, let me rephrase: how did I end up in He- er, the Underwhere instead of Heaven or whatever you call it?"

"Well, your sins have been weighed and they determine which you land in. If you bear enough sin to have no significant notice, then the bliss of the Overthere will be yours. And if not…"

"…then it's here I stay."

"Exactly! You catch on quick. So, let us weigh your sins at this time."

"Wait, they aren't already?"

"Good heavens, no! I can't weigh them unless I see you in a personal audience. Now, then… Hm? I sense a strange energy that has nothing to do with sins. Did you so happen to be clutching something as you fell into the Underwhere?"

"No… Hang on, there _is_ something I've got!"

Phred pulled out his Return Pipe.

"Not that. There's another energy. One that… but no. It can't be. Empty your pockets now!" Phred did so and after pulling out every item, he pulled out the Stone Heart. Jaydes jumped back in fear for some reason.

"_What is THIS?_ But how…?"

_**A Few Minutes Later…**_

"…and that's how this Pure Heart got badly damaged."

"My… an entire world destroyed. No wonder we received so many dead souls at once about half an hour ago."

"You mean they all arrived? All hundred of them?"

"Oh, yes. A hundred and one counting the king, but that is beside the point."

"So, about my sins?"

"I have another question: Who exactly _are _you?"

_**A Few More Minutes Later…**_

"Let me get this straight, you are _THE _Hero of Prophecy and are collecting the Pure Hearts to stop the cataclysm of all worlds as demonstrated in the samurai world described earlier?"

"Basically."

"And your friends are—" She didn't finish, for someone's cell phone rung. "Oh, excuse me. That is my phone. So sorry, but I must take this. My husband, I do hope you understand."

"Of course, take your time queen." He put the Pure Heart away while she answered the phone. She turned away and flipped it open.

"What is it _now_, Grams? You know I'm working."

"…"

"WHAT?" She jumped in a startled fashion again. "LUVBI is **MISSING**?"

"…"

"Oh, mercy. I understand and I'll see to it. Mmmmm-bye!" Slamming the phone shut, she turned to Phred and explained the problem to him.

"Just great. Just what I need. I am already shorthanded… what am I going to do?"

"You're not even going to think about asking me to find her and continue venting."

She misheard him.

"Oh! Perhaps you can help! That phone call I received just now was from the king of the Overthere, Grambi. One of the Nimbis, angel-like creatures, vanished from the Overthere, and he asked me to look for her. I certainly cannot abandon my duties here in the palace and my D-Men are all busy."

"I actually think I know who you're talking about." Phred told her as he thought back to that girl who rejected him back at the pipe.

"Splendid! Then it shall be you who searches for her. I do apologize for asking this of you, but it would really help. The name of this missing Nimbi is Luvbi."

"So I overheard."

"By the way, I didn't catch your name. All I know you by is Hero, but I feel you grow tired of that title."

"My name's Phred. It's with—"

"A 'ph', I know." Phred was astonished at her knowledge. How did she know that and not his full name? "Well, Phred, May I hold on to this Pure Heart while you are busy searching?"

"…Why?"

"Oh, nothing personal. I just would like to identify what's wrong for myself, that is all." She summoned it with her powers right out of Phred's pocket.

"No! I really need that… even if it is dead."

"Worry not, I shall return it to you when YOU return with Luvbi. But, being as I am generous and a real push-over for Heroes, allow me to give you this in its place." She handed him a key. "Word has reached me that someone has fallen into the River Twygz. Some said it was a lass of ebony colored skin."

"Ieda!"

"You know her? Well, all the more reason for _you_ to go search for her! That key will open up the underground waterways beneath the River Twygz. That's where she was sighted. But do search the rest of this area thoroughly."

"Of course, milady. I'll get right on it." Phred turned to leave, but had a question.

"Now that I'm in Hell, how do I get back?"

"Find Luvbi and your problems shall be solved simultaneously, I guarantee it! Now waste no more time! Go!"

Phred left and headed for the waters he crossed over in the ferry.

**~*-SP_-*~**

**Phred looked high  
and low for Luvbi,  
but could not find her.**

"**Where could she have gone?"  
He asked no one as he  
headed back to the river.**

**Downward he floated, dodging  
spirited hands of bone as  
the decent continued.**

**His feet hit the bottom  
and there was no door  
to be found anywhere.**

**Thinking like Tippi, he  
thought to look in the  
third dimension.**

**He stood on a hole and  
sunk even further down  
until he found the true floor.**

**The door was locked, so  
Phred used the only  
key and it fit snugly.**

**He faced a complex maze  
of underground waterways,  
but eventually found his way.**

**He took in a fine breath  
of air as he found a room  
with a shivering girl.**

**She sat, fetal position,  
in cowardice and noticed  
not our fine Hero.**


	44. Finally Found Ieda!

**In celebration of finally finding Ieda, check out my profile for a very noticeable surprise! But worry about that later. For now, enjoy the chapter! :)**

* * *

World ?-?: Finally Found Ieda!

The first thing Phred noticed about this room was that the ledge the door sat on was too high for him to jump back onto after he walked off. The next thing, after accepting that he was trapped, was the collection of three, red geysers bobbing up and down. Phred tried his best with them, but fell off every time. Eventually, he got fed up and simply called Ieda down to come to him.

"Ieda!" No reaction that he could see. "Ieda, it's me, Phred! I know you're up there, so can you come on down please?" A few seconds passed and Phred could see her standing.

"Phred? Oh my God! It is you! Hold on, I'm coming right down!" She jumped higher than he expected; she jumped over all three and landed behind Phred.

"Whoa… you've got quite a jump."

"Thanks. So how'd I end up in this place, anyways? I mean, I remember Count Bleck's underlings grabbing me—"

"So _that's_ why you were all evil and stuff…"

"Whoa, I was _what?_"

"Uh, I'll explain later."

"Oh, I'm just so glad you came to rescue me! I missed you… and Ray. Where is he anyways?"

"I don't know," he truthfully told her. "He's gotta be somewhere close, I mean, he did get burned by Dimentio."

"Dimentio? Now where have I heard that name before?" As she brooded over where she heard that name before, Phred explained where they were. When he finished, she wasn't too satisfied.

"But what does it all mean? Why us and why now?"

"I dunno. But we gotta get outta here soon. Which reminds me, I'm supposed to be looking for a girl named Luvbi, but I can't find her. D'you wanna…"

"Of course! Anything to get us out of here. Besides, we have to look for Ray and Rachel."

**~*-SP_-*~**

**IEDA HAS (FINALLY) JOINED YOUR GROUP!**

**~*-SP_-*~**

"Great! But we kinda gotta get back up to the door."

"Oh, that's no problem. I've got this super jump that lets me jump real high. I'll show you." With that, she walked over to just under the edge of the ledge and told Phred to hold on. He did, and both shrank as if they were springs. Once released of pressure, they soared through the air and landed back on the once out-of-reach ledge.

"Whoa! That is super!" Ieda smiled, as did Phred.

He finally recruited all of his friends. But now he had to find the other half of his team. He hoped it would be soon.

**~*-SP_-*~**

_**AN AREA PREVIOUSLY UNREACHABLE…**_

**~*-SP_-*~**

As the Frost Piranhas popped up and down in their permanent pipe-housings as if to inform Phred and Ieda that their bypassing them in 3-D was unacceptable, Luvbi sang on a pipe.

"Oh, hurry… Hasten to meee… Sweet prince…" Phred approached her. "FOULNESS! The youthed twig returneth! And he hast brought the beast rumored amongst mother's trusted underlings. Talk not to me as though we have met! Speak now of what thou wanteth of me."

"Your mother wants you. She's worried sick."

"Thou came hither to me upon her request? Pah! As if I would consort with a sapling as you with hair of that hue! For all I know, you may be moronic as well!"

"Hey! I don't appreciate the blond joke!"

"I await a handsome prince! Understood? PRINCES ONLY!"

"Lady, please cooperate. We've got to get back to the flipside of this world."

_You have no idea how hard I'm trying not to laugh right now…_ Phred thought.

"Besides, his friend is a prince! And his girlfriend is a genuine princess! For real!"

"Oh, but dost thou claim to be acquaintances with the prince I pine for?" Luvbi asked, interested in who Ieda was talking about.

"You tell me. Are you looking for a depressed emo that already has a girl?" Phred challenged. She ignored him.

"Priceless… Yea, verily… Very well then, good friends of the prince, let us confirm thy lineage. Surely thou prince toldest you of my name. Speak it to mine ears!"

"Okay… Luvbi."

"Ha HA! In thy FACE! My name is not Luv—" she cut herself off, then became mortified.

"**WHAAAAAT**? H-H-HOW HAST THOU COME BY THE KNOWLEDGE OF MY NAME? No… Doth this mean…?"

"Um, Phred? What's happening?"

"I dunno."

"Nay! Nay! Such foulness! The very thought cannot be abided! You _do_ know of mine prince! But how?"

"I've been wondering that myself." Phred told her.

"I must return to Mother!" She floated off quickly. Phred and Ieda pursued after her.

**~*-SP_-*~**

The two finally reached the queen's throne when Luvbi called out to them from behind the queen.

"HA! At last thou appearest, you uncouth, young creatures!" The two walked closer as she continued, "Thou art no princes! Or acquaintances of such as well! Thou approachest me at my mother's behest!"

"Her what?" Phred asked.

"Request." Ieda answered as the queen turned to her daughter.

"Luvbi! Mind _your_ manners! You know this all happened because you wandered off without permission… again! Now, apologize to these nice adolescents at once."

"Um, yea… so, ummm, yea. I am sorry… that thou art so juvenile."

Both: …

"Oh, Luvbi," the queen continued, "You had us all so very worried. Oh, and Phred, please accept this as a sign of my eternal thanks. I believe it belongs to you anyway. Here." What she pulled out astonished Phred to no end.

**~*-SP_-*~**

**YOU GOT THE REVITALIZED PURE HEART!**

**~*-SP_-*~**

"The Pure Heart! But… how'd you—"

"I've powers over life and death you see, and with them I was able to restore this Pure Heart. You know, this Pure Heart shows that fate is on your side. Please take good care of it."

"You need not worry, for I shall place it into the Heart Pillar myself."

"Oh, they still use those? In that case, I need not worry like you said to."

"Speaking of which," Ieda said, "how do we get back?"

"Oh, I nearly forgot! It may please you both to know that your game is not truly over." Both of them and the audience behind the television cheered. "Somehow, you were sent to the Underwhere while still very much alive." Phred stared at the minor burns Dimentio gave him.

"So what do you say? Are you ready to go back now?"

"Absolutely!" They both shouted.

"Then I shall return you." They both stepped back as she started to hum some sort of chant.

"_Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!  
Jaydes, Jaydes, JA-JAYDES!  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!  
__**CONTINUE!**_"

When she finished, a sort of star shaped portal materialized above them. In the center, a spiraling rainbow effect sucked them in.

They were on their way back.

* * *

**So Phred finally found Ieda! :D But the question remains: where are the twins? And just what will the next world bring? Happiness, grief, tons of elbows to the stomach? One thing's for sure... it's going to be partly cloudy with a chance of Void and hail!**


	45. The Seventh of Eight

They fell onto Flipside Tower in front of the only empty space left. Both got up without any troubles and looked around for a few seconds.

"Where are we?" Ieda finally asked.

"Flipside." he responded. She regretted using the term back when she met Luvbi.

All was normal... or at least seemed normal to Phred. The Void still loomed over, the tower was qui-

"PHRED! You're... _alive_?" Tippi gasped in amazement as she interrupted the narrator. Phred turned to see that Tippi and Merlon were walking towards them. Tippi floated over faster than Merlon could walk; it was apparent she really missed him. As both stopped, Merlon gaped.

"PH-PH-PH-PH-PHRED? But… But we saw Dimentio end your game! And then Tippi said that you were here, so I thought I'd come and take a look, but… Wow… You're truly alive."

"Of course he's alive! That queen sent us back as if the world depended on it."

"You have no idea…"

"Um… Mademoiselle I?"

"Who's that? I'm Ieda."

"Mlle I is no more." Phred informed. "We now have our loveable and not evil Ieda! Yay."

"Oh! A new Hero! Well, we'll all fill you in later! For now, let's head into my house." Merlon told Ieda. She nodded and followed knowing nothing.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"…so that's how you got back. Unbelievable… And you mentioned Ieda?"

"Yeah. I'm right here."

"Hmmm." Merlon mused. "I think that your meeting was not coincidence. I highly think that Dimentio ended your game too. Otherwise, how else would you not know who Mlle I is."

"Merlon… you said something about a new Hero back on the tower… I think you're right."

"Of course I'm right! It's according to this interesting bit of the Light Prognosticus. I'll cite it for you: 'The seventh lost Pure Heart shall drag together two friends, and when the light returns, its brilliance will show the way to the last Hero.' So, in short, Ieda here is the last Hero!"

"Oh, Phred… I never stopped believing you'd return…" Tippi randomly said. She continued, though, "But what of Ray and Rachel?"

"No sign of them. Besides, I bet Rachel is somewhere in Heaven. She may have to wait a bit longer than Ray."

"Well, if _you_ could come back, I bet the others can also… But first, we need to find the Heart Pillar in Flopside."

"Can somebody please—"

"We'll inform you along the way, Ieda. We'll take the long way this time." Phred answered before she could ask.

**-*~PPS~*-**

**_AT THE HEART PILLAR AFTER FINDING A POWER PLUS AND AN HP PLUS..._**

**-*~PPS~*-**

"There it is!" Phred proclaimed as he exited the pipe. He ran over while Tippi, Ieda, and the Pixls followed. He stopped in front of a high wall.

"Well Ieda, looks like we need you to jump." Phred held on as she jumped. As she floated down from hitting the ceiling, Phred jumped down and placed in the violet Pure Heart. Those same clockwork lines appeared in violet and Phred and the newly informed Ieda figured that the door had appeared. As quickly as it came, it went away. Tippi started to talk.

"So this is the seventh… Now there is but a single Pure Heart left to find… We have to act quickly… we've gotta stop that Blumiere…" She hesitated at her mistake, and Phred looked towards her. "Hm? What did I just…Blumiere… Wait… Hold on… Who in the world is that?" She asked, playing dumb.

"Your ex-lover?"

"Secretly Count Bleck?"

"How should I know? I… What am I saying? And what are you saying, accusing the antagonist of being 'the one'?"

"Do you need a break, Tipps?" Phred asked.

"NO! I… I mean, no. Let's just go and see where the next door leads."

So Phred pulled out the long forgotten Return Pipe and used it for the first time in succession. Then, he and his friends entered the last door on Flipside Tower. Conveniently, it was right next to them!

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Dimentio's savage attack  
had separated Phred from  
his friends…**

**He had reunited with Ieda,  
yes, but Ray and Rachel  
were still missing.**

**Just where were those two?  
And what new dangers lay  
ahead?**

**It was time to venture  
through the door opened by  
the seventh Pure Heart.**

**Once again, Phred saw a  
nightmarish landscape  
beyond imagination…**


	46. The Shortest Chapter

World 7-1: Subterranean Vacation

Subtitle: The Shortest Chapter

The Underwhere sprang up from the land-drawing lines. Next, the violet door appeared and out stepped Phred's group. Tippi was the first to speak.

"It's so dark here… I wonder what sort of world this is…"

"This," started Phred, "is the land of the lost games. The Underwhere as they call it."

"Oh, well then… I wonder why the Pure Heart led us here…"

"I dunno, but we better find Jaydes again." Ieda said.

_**A Few Minutes Later…**_

"Greetings," greeted Queen Jaydes, "Welcome to the—" she paused and looked closer at who she spoke to. Realizing it was Phred and Ieda, she asked, "Wait, why have you returned?"

"You're Queen Jaydes?" asked Tippi. "My name is Tippi… I'm a friend of these two. We… We've come to find the Pure Heart that's hidden in this world…" She jumped like she did when Phred scared her with the Stone Heart.

"WHAT? You… You're collecting Pure Hearts? …You know, now that I actually take a close look at you, I realize you just might be the Heroes mentioned in the Prognosticus. But could you really be… _the_ ones?"

There was a pause.

"So… does that mean you have the Pure Heart for us, Queen Jaydes?" She turned away.

"The location of the Pure Heart is a matter of utmost secrecy, I am afraid." She said in an officious manner. "There is nothing I can tell you."

"But… wait! What about that Grambi person?" Phred remembered. "Can he tell us anything?" Jaydes thought about it for moments.

"I suppose if you must know, he might reveal the secret to you." She answered as Luvbi called her. She appeared on screen to tell her that her bags were packed and that she checked everything thrice and she was ready to head back to the Overthere. She also said hello to Phred and Ieda.

"An idea strikes!" Queen Jaydes burst out. "Could you great Heroes take Luvbi back to the Overthere for me?" Tippi questioned the queen as to why.

"A monster was once held beneath here…but a recent earthquake freed it. Once it escaped its prison, it began to wander this realm freely. Being a parent, I could never send my daughter alone with such a savage beast on the loose. If you would take her back, I would gladly open the way to the Overthere for you."

"Alright, fine."

"I will also alert Grambi that you are coming to ask him about the Pure Heart."

"Alright, fine." Phred repeated.

"…I thank you. With this monster about, my D-Men and I are busy trying to contain the damage." She moved out of the way and made a door appear.

"C'mon Luvbi." Ieda commanded.

"Just keep heading upward to reach the Overthere. A-And make sure Luvbi arrives safely in the care of Grambi!" Jaydes told them as they entered the door containing a star block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"…and avert thine eyes lest you succumb to my cuteness!" Luvbi winked.

"Oh please, Phred's not that superficial…" Tippi defended.

"Oh me, a sharpened tongue. Thou art jealous? Dost thou pine for yonder _children_? Unless thou is sick in thy brain, thou pinest most for the boy." This enraged Tippi.

"Wh-What? I…"

"Thy cheek grows red, and thy manner flustered. A crush, hot as a thousand suns, burns deep within thy heart! Yea, verily. Anyway, strikest that block!"

Phred did.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**I sought a prince, but nay!  
What I found were two  
saplings only maturing!**

…'**Twas a horror, yea, and  
one that left my breath  
stricken in my throat."**

**Luvbi kept up this refrain as  
she traveled with our Heroes.  
She seemed less than happy.**

**Still, she DID have a lot of  
energy…**

"**Hasten thy twiggy legs!  
Time waits not for those  
who slack!"**

**Ieda, on the other hand,  
was elated that she and  
Phred were finally reunited.**

**But Ray and Rachel were  
still nowhere to be found…  
Were they safe?**

…**So thought our Heroes as  
they made their way slowly  
to Underwhere Road.**


	47. The Sealed Doors Three

**The last few chapters have been shorter than usual... but that's about to change now as we regain one of the lost Heroes. What will it take to tame this big, bad beast? A more appropriate question: Is he actually the beast?**

**Oh, and careful out there in this chapter. Ray says a naughty word.**

_Hey! You'd react the same way if three, giant-_

**That's enough! Just get back to your post and stay there.**

_*mutters horrible words about the author as he walks away*_

* * *

World 7-2: The Sealed Doors Three

Luvbi stepped forward in the hallway and said in a thankful manner, "At long last, we find it… Herein lies the ay out of The Underwhere. This… Is… Underwhere Road."

"No need to be dramatic." Ieda told her.

"So if we proceed ever upward, we'll eventually reach the Overthere?" Tippi asked.

"Yea, verily! One would think that to be obvious… Ugh, my heart weepeth to return to the Overthere without meeting mine one true love." Tippi snickered. "Pray, speakest to me, Tippi. Dost thou believest in the idea of a soul mate?" This caught the butterfly off guard.

"Hm? Oh, well, you know, I… I don't really—"

"Hmm… I shall mark that as one vote for 'undecided'… or perhaps I should say 'unrequited' in thy case. Ha HA!" Phred regretted being in between the two girls.

"What do you… Ridiculous! I mean, I'm not—"

"Hee hee! Oh, Tippi, sweet Tippi! How simple it is to tweak thy chain!" She inched forward. "So… Now I must forge onward. Catchest me if thou canst!" Winking, she left.

"That girl," started Tippi, "is a walking mood swing… I mean, she's entirely unstable, isn't she?"

"Sure?" Ieda answered from the sidelines.

"C'mon guys, we gotta move." They found a door at the end of the hallway and entered.

**~*-SPP-*~**

So, heeding Queen Jaydes' words, up they went. They carefully avoided Dark Boos and landed jumps. Eventually, they found a door that looked as if some mysterious force held it closed.

"This door…" Tippi said, "This isn't an ordinary door." She was right. As she finished, the door revealed a face and spoke.

"Now!" the door bellowed. "I'm Dorguy the First and Queen Jaydes demands I guard this door, people! Lotsa monsters around, folks. Lotsa monsters. So I've gotta do routine checks, OK?"

"What kind of a check?" Phred nervously asked.

"Ones that confirms that you're trustworthy. Just a couple questions, that's all. Answer them correctly and you'll head on through. Now then:"

D-Man A goes to the store and buys an equal number of tomatoes and eggplants. Eggplants cost seven coins apiece and tomatoes cost ten coins apiece, OK? D-Man A Has fifty coins when he goes into the store. He comes out with five coins. Those are the facts. Now!  
**Who is the most powerful person in the Underwhere?**  
_Queen Jaydes. _(Correct!)

Shayde B buys 667 pens for thirteen coins each and buys 108 notebooks for forty-two coins each. He needs more money, so he takes out 3,756 coins from the bank and spends it all. Those are the facts. Now!  
**What is my name?  
**_Dorguy the First. _(Correct!)

Panda A and Bear B go to Apple Mountain for a day of apple picking, right? There are 120 apple trees on the mountain and each has a 20-apple yield. A takes ten seconds to pick each apple, while B takes twenty seconds to pick each apple. Those are the facts. Now!  
**How many times did I just say the word 'apple'?  
**_Uh... six? _(Correct!)

"You folks seem OK to me. Head on through." They did before another Dark Boo could scare them all.

**~*-SPP-*~**

In the next room, they heard banging from the far end of the room. They passed a locked door to talk to three D-Men barricading a different door. The Heroes joked that that was Dorguy the Second silently.

"Huh? What do you want?" D1 asked. "Look, we'd love to chitchat, but we're crunch-time busy over here, can't you tell?"

"We simply must reach the Overthere…" …_so we can deliver this flustering girl to Grambi!_

"Which way is it?" Phred asked.

"The Overthere, huh… That door on your left heads you up there. But we can't open it right now. We're busy over here guarding this door that holds some pale, cut-up teenager."

"Ray!" Both shouted.

"Oh, you know it?" D2 asked. Everyone nodded (except Luvbi who puppy dog-guarded the locked door). "I mean this has to DEFINITELY be the one that escaped its prison. Can't have him breaching security, so we locked both doors just in case."

"This thing is a BEAST!" D3 interjected. "He's real mean. He..." he hushed his voice and said, "He hurt my feelings…" Frowning, he continued in a normal tone, "I don't wanna be the D-Man who has to stop it. Problem is, until someone subdues it, we can't use the door to the Overthere."

"I'll go talk some sense into him."

"NO, Phred! That's suicide! I'll go. After all, I _am_ his girlfriend." Ieda said.

"Did the missus just say that she's gonna go fight this thing?" D3 asked.

"Yeah…" Tippi said.

All the D-Men screamed, "_**ARE YOU NUTS?**_"

"Y-Y-Y-You're SERIOUS? You actually think you can tame that beast?"

"Well," D2 started as they all calmed down, "hey, yeah, great idea. Sounds like a smart plan… Tell ya what, you head on in and I'll mail your curly locks to your next of kin!"

"Look, my prediction? Your game's about to end. If not, we'll help you on your way. Give it a try, gal!" Ieda nodded and walked in. This left Tippi and Phred alone for the first time in forever. They stood in silence for a few seconds before Phred started a conversation... or at least tried to.

"So… how're you, Tipps? Any new memories? I mean you keep talking about that Blu—"

"SHH! Not here with that eavesdropping little twat listening in…"

"I heard that!"

"See? So, let's just change the subject…"

"She heard you because you yelled. Now, c'mon. You're acting really strangely. What's up?"

"I… I don't know… I mean, I keep trying to rack my brain to think of who this Blumiere person could be, but—"

"You can stop. We both know you know who he is. I notice how you talked to Count Bleck back in the samurai world. I have a feeling—" it was Tippi's turn to interrupt.

"Me in love with Count Bleck? Preposterous! How… How _dare_ you suggest such a thing!"

"No, It's not preposterous. I really do think you have the hots for the villain."

"NO! That's truly out of the question! Absolutely not!"

"Well, if you change your mind, tell me. ...Hey, the rumbling stopped." Sure enough, the rumbling did end and the D-Men were astonished. Seconds later, Ieda walked out with her arm around Ray. The door closed and Ray asked a question before the rejoin party slogan popped up.

"How'd the Boy Scout land in Hell?"

**~*-SPP-*~**

**RAY HAS REJOINED THE PARTY!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Hey, its you! And your game isn't over… Did you run away or something?"

"Does it look like it?" Ray asked. "Idiot." He whispered; his right eye twitched at a memory he had.

"Wait, you beat it?"

"Yes."

"O RLY?"

"YA RLY!"

"NO WAI!"

"YA WAI!"

"SRSLY?"

"SRSLY!"

"**GUYS**!" Phred yelled, stopping the Internet speech phenomenon. They both looked at him, waiting for him to say something. D1 started the conversation again, though.

"Man, I can't believe it… Wow, um, thanks! You're a prime go-getter, pal." Ieda blushed.

"Aw, it was nothing." she responded. Ray looked down at her and smiled.

"This is the key that'll open up the door to the Overthere." said D2 as he pulled out said key and handed it to Phred.

"Thanks again!" They all said as Phred saved and then entered the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Gosh, if it weren't for the lit torches, I'd say it was dark." Phred said.

"Well I like it." Ray expressed.

"And that's relevant because…?" Tippi asked.

The gang hadn't platformed more than three platforms before they looked up and noticed the long, arduous climb to the top.

"Well, let's get going."

_**Forty-One Successful Platform Jumps Later…**_

"Is that another Dorguy?" Phred asked.

"It feels so..."

"HALT!" the door yelled, confirming Dorguy suspicions, "What's this, then? Travelers have come?" His face appeared. "Now! Queen Jaydes demands I guard this door, folks! I'm Dorguy the Second."

"Let's get this quiz on the road, shall we?"

"Look, I'm sorry for the intrusion, but it's standard protocol. But, yeah, let's get the quiz going. You've gotta answer them all correctly in one go to go."

ACTIVATE SCREEN!

From above, a large projection screen started lowering. Ray stabbed the screen when it stopped, ripping the fabric. He then walked to the door with the knife still out.

"Listen here, buddy. We've got my sister to save in the Overthere and this thing to drop off to her dad who just so happens to be God! So, I suggest if you don't want the same fate as your precious screen, you let us through."

"Ray!"

"He's only God in the game, Ray."

There was a pause for about a minute. Then, Dorguy II spoke.

"Y'know, normally I'd call D-Men to take people that threat me away, but since it's Tuesday, I'll let you slide with a warning."

"Thank you. C'mon guys." The two other Heroes whispered that he'd never get away with that kind of stuff in the real world and how he needed to put the knife away as they entered through Dorguy II.

**~*-SPP-*~**

They found another locked door and an out-of-place pink door that was not locked. They headed in there.

Three Hags were in there walking around aimlessly. They were very old women, each wearing a different colored dress. Phred decided to talk to the one closest to the door.

"Eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh eh! I am Hagra, yes, one of the ancient sisters three… The Underwhere Crones!"

"Hi, we're—"

"Young, aren't you?"

"Well, yes, but we—"

"That stupid door won't budge again? I told those D-Men to stop locking it… How come you need to get to the Overthere?"

"We gotta save my sister!"

"And we desire an audience with Grambi to discuss the Pure Heart." Phred continued for Ray.

"Sounds serious… Well, you are not the only soul here with a problem, no. I have one as well."

"Is it as important as saving millions upon millions of people from a cataclysmic fate about to happen any minute?" Tippi asked.

"Well, no… but… I lent a certain D-Man a book, you see. Now I need it back. Can you please find him and get it back for me, you strapping young thing?" She asked Phred.

"What've we got to lose? Okay."

"Good, yes, good. Allow me to send you to where the D-Man in question is. Oh, and thank you for your help, yes… **HAGRACADAGRA!**"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"We… _WE'RE BACK AT THE BEGINNING?_" Phred angrily shouted.

"It appears so…" Tippi confirmed.

"I'll get the book." Ray said. Phred yelled no.

"Haven't you done enough this chapter? You are not threatening any one-slash-_thing_ else. Ieda will get it."

"Why me?"

"Because I'm too annoyed and angry to get it." Ieda nodded and walked over to the D-Man next to the door and talked. She made the 'Key Item Get' pose, and then walked over to regroup with her friends.

"All set, Ieda?" Ray asked. She said yes, and they restarted their climb.

_**A Few Annoying Minutes Later…**_

"Hm? Did you get the book back, young one?" Ieda handed her the diet book and the Hag became happy.

"Ohh, this is it, yes, yes. See, I'm getting a little… paunchy in my old age."

"Um, payment?"

"Oh, yes, let me give you this as thanks, dearie." She handed them the key to the locked door.

"Well, that's super convenient." Phred noted as Hagra started to dance Michael Jackson moves including the moonwalk and the thriller step. She said thank you and good-bye as she looped the iconic dance steps.

"Bye." Said the gang as they saved and exited to head to the next leg of their journey to the Overthere.

**~*-SPP-*~**

They climbed stairs and avoided Spiny Tromps to get to the next door.

"This door happens to be Dorguy III…" Tippi stated, causing the door to come alive.

"Oh no, travelers have come? Well, Queen Jaydes demands I guard this door, for I am Dorguy the Third." She said. "I've gotta take a second of your time to see if you people are worthy of traveling up to Heaven or not."

"Wow, you're the first Nintendo character to call the Overthere Heaven. How does it feel to break programming?" Phred asked.

"Never mind the idle chatter! I'll do to you what I did to Dorguy II if you don't let us through!" Ray yelled.

"Idle threats do nothing to me. Now, then… _can I get a little… __**UNDERCHOMP**__!_" At that moment, three primary-colored, oversized Chain Chomps appeared. They scared everyone. Even…

"Holy crap! Those things are scaring the shit out of me!" Ray screamed.

"If you can defeat this enemy in a classic RPG-style battle that has no overall relation to the plot of this game-slash-story, I will let you pass."

"You're really rogue for a door…" Tippi told her as they entered battle with Ray as the starting attacker.

**~*-RPG_SPP-*~**

_A wild Underchomp appears!_

_What does Ray want to do? _Pixl – Piccolo

_Ray uses Piccolo!  
Piccolo plays a mysterious song!  
Red Underchomp falls into a deep sleep!  
Blue Underchomp falls into a deep sleep!  
Yellow Underchomp falls into a deep sleep!_

_Red Underchomp is taking a nice nap…  
Blue Underchomp is taking a nice nap…  
Yellow Underchomp is taking a nice nap…_

_What does Ray want to do? _Attack – Red

_Ray attacks!  
Ray deals 10 damage to Red Underchomp!_

_Red Underchomp is taking a nice nap…  
Blue Underchomp is taking a nice nap…  
Yellow Underchomp is taking a nice nap…_

_What does Ray want to do?_ Attack – Red

_Ray attacks!  
Ray deals 10 damage to Red Underchomp!  
You defeated Red Underchomp!_

_Blue Underchomp is taking a nice nap…  
Yellow Underchomp is taking a nice nap…_

_Blue Underchomp wakes up!  
Yellow Underchomp wakes up!_

_What does Ray want to do? _Pixl – Piccolo

_Ray uses Piccolo!  
Piccolo plays a mysterious song!  
Blue Underchomp falls into a deep sleep!  
Yellow Underchomp falls into a deep sleep!_

_Blue Underchomp is taking a nice nap…  
Yellow Underchomp is taking a nice nap…_

_What does Ray want to do? _Attack – Blue

_Ray attacks!  
Ray deals 10 damage to Blue Underchomp!_

_Blue Underchomp is taking a nice nap…  
Yellow Underchomp is taking a nice nap…_

_What does Ray want to do?_ Attack – Blue

_Ray attacks!  
Ray deals 10 damage to Blue Underchomp!  
Ray defeated Blue Underchomp!_

_Yellow Underchomp is taking a nice nap…_

_Yellow Underchomp wakes up!_

_What will Ray do? _Pixl – Piccolo

_Ray uses Piccolo!  
Piccolo plays a mysterious song!  
Yellow Underchomp falls into a deep sleep!_

_Yellow Underchomp is taking a nice nap…_

_What does Ray want to do? _Technique – Stab – Yellow

_Ray stabs Yellow Underchomp!  
…But the blade snaps in two on contact with Yellow Underchomp!_

_Yellow Underchomp is taking a nice nap…_

_What does Ray want to do? _Attack – Yellow

_Ray attacks!  
Ray deals 10 damage to Yellow Underchomp!_

_Yellow Underchomp is taking a nice nap…_

_Yellow Underchomp wakes up!_

_What does Ray want to do?_

_Ray attacks!  
Ray deals 10 damage to Yellow Underchomp!  
You defeated Yellow Underchomp!_

_YOU DEFEATED THE UNDERCHOMP!_

_Ray received 6,000 EXP!_

_Ray gained a level!_

_Ray's health points increase by 5!_

**~*-RPG_SPP-*~**

"Wow, you defeated the Underchomp… Well, you may go through then." They did, found the star block, and ended the chapter.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**Our Heroes had found their  
way out of the dark and  
confusion of the Underwhere.**

**Phred and friends now saw  
the sun shining brightly  
against a beautiful blue sky.**

**This was the sky paradise  
Grambi called home, a place  
of joy called the Overthere.**

**Somewhere above the  
never-ending layers of clouds  
waited Grambi himself.**

**Phred and his friends began  
to make their way up that  
fluffy road to above…**


	48. The Forbidden Apple

**Not my favourite chapter writing-wise, but the good part about this one is that Rachel rejoins!**

* * *

World 7-3: The Forbidden Apple

"It's so bright!" Ray complained loudly as the team arrived on the scene of a cloudy stairway. Luvbi, however, had different thoughts.

"Ah me, blue skies again! If we continue upward, we'll soon be in the Overthere! Let us away!"

"Wait, you rambunctious girl," Tippi said before she could run off, "That sounds fine and well and good, but we have yet to find Rachel… Oh, I'm so worried…"

"We are too, Tippi." Ray reminded.

"Pray, I would understand this! Is yon Rach the lady friend of Phred?"

"Wha—?" Phred responded; the question caught him completely off guard.

"Well… Um…"

"Oh, verily? But the damsel looms large in his regard, is this not so? A one-sided crush then, mayhap."

"No! The feeling of our love is mutual, if that's what you're getting at." Phred told her. The Nimbi girl ignored this and started up.

"Enough idle blather," she said as she ascended, "I shall run ahead, so keepest up if thou canst!"

"We'll try." Ieda said.

"If thou climbest too slowly, the sun will set, so shaketh a leg!" She then disappeared leaving the gang to find the way up, and Rachel, to themselves.

The entire way consisted of jumping. Jumping up clouds, jumping on enemies, jumping on springy clouds… it never seemed to end even past the first door.

"Whoa, The Void's in the Overthere." Phred said gasping. Ray didn't pay attention to the detail, for he was knocking out Zombie Shrooms he kept finding in the nearby ? boxes. Eventually, after number 4, the Merlee Item wheel appeared giving them a Life Shroom.

"Score!" Ieda shouted (though not fully understanding what it was) as she pocketed it. To the party's dismay, they had to use a Shroom Shake to actually keep it.

This part of the stair was more eventful than the last part. They found coins, a card, and some enemies that drained their energy so much that, at the door, they used a Super Shroom Shake and accidentally a Long-Last Shake.

_**Some Time Later…**_

They found Rachel perched under a tree in an Alice in Wonderland-esque type of fashion on the other side of a door next to a save block in the third area.

"Phred, Ray, Ieda, look!" Tippi cried out as they approached the slumbering girl. "It's Rachel!"

Rachel: Snoooooore

"Rachel! Hey! Hey! Wake up, Rach!" Ieda yelled.

Rachel: Snoooooore

"Oh, this is just _annoying_… **GET UUUUP!**" Ray shouted as loud as he could. This startled everyone. Except…

Rachel: Snoooooore

"Why was it _my_ sister that was gifted with the ability to sleep through anything? Why couldn't it have been me?" Ray lamented.

"Ah, me…" called the voice of Luvbi from off screen, "Prithee, tell me. Rachel I presume?" She floated closer to take a look at the scene unfolding before her eyes. She looked around for a few seconds, and then spotted something that made her gasp.

"What is it?" Tippi asked.

"She hath eaten of the golden fruit. She lacketh the common sense, I fear."

"What a surprise." Ray joked facetiously.

"Golden…fruit?" Ieda asked as Luvbi discarded the rotting core of the unfinished apple.

"The Overthere teemeth with magical trees whose fruit maketh many an odd effect," she explained. "The fruit of golden hue maketh people so satisfied, they falleth into a deep sleep."

"I fear for how long Rachel's lights are gonna be out. How long?" Phred asked.

"A hundred years."

"A HUNDRED YEARS?" Tippi questioned. "We don't have that kind of time… The worlds have only a few hours at best before they start decaying… Isn't there a way to wake her up sooner?"

"Pray, wherefore would I know of such…" she trailed off and then burst out laughing. "Ha ha ha! Hold a moment, I do remember my father's words from long ago."

"How long ago?" Ray asked silently.

"Yea, he said one tree in the Overthere bore a taboo fruit that could waketh anyone."

"What tree in paradise would have an unperfect fruit?" Phred asked.

"Pray… _Wherefore should I know, huh?_"

"So then all we know is that we need to find a kind of fruit… Marvelous." Tippi remarked.

"Well, we've gotta do _some_thing! Let's go find any kind of fruit we can!" encouraged Ieda.

"So, yon Rachel… All seem to holdeth her in regard most high."

"Well, she's the glue to our fun, dysfunctional group." Phred told her.

"And my sister!" Ray attempted to correct (it came out as if he were adding on).

"And my BFFL." Ieda added.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmph! Doeth what thou wantest! I am NOT helping! I am SULKING!" Luvbi flew off, enraged that Rachel was more popular than she.

"What is _with_ that girl?" Ieda wondered. "She's so… Oh, it doesn't matter. Let's go find that taboo fruit." Everyone agreed with her, and they set off to find it.

_**Later, After Finding The Fruit In The Most Obscure Place In The Chapter…**_

"Quick, Phred… Hand her the black apple…"

"But that's my favorite one!" Ray protested.

"No! We've gotta wake her up. Besides, we'll be passing that again later." Ieda promised.

"…fine."

Phred took out the black apple and practically force fed it to her.

Rachel: Snoooooore

"It's not working!"

"Patience Ray, patience…"

Rachel: Snooo- Ohhhh… Unnnggh…

"Wait, what's happening?" Phred asked, leaning in with wide eyes.

"It looks as though she's waking up…" Tippi told him. Rachel kept moaning and sleep talking until finally she muttered the first word that came to mind.

"G-Grr-"

"Yes?" they all whispered.

"**GROSS!**" Rachel jumped into the air and flailed her arms as if she had never fallen asleep. The sheer volume of the scream was enough to push her comrades back a ways. That is, except for Tippi and the Pixls. She fell to her face.

"Oh, goodness. Rachel, are you…all right?" asked Tippi in a worried fashion.

"NO! My taste buds need surgery after that FOUL piece of fruit… at least I think it was fruit… Seriously, what _was_ that?"

"Who cares?" Ray said as the gang approached to group hug "Just be glad you're awake!"

~~GROUP HUG!~~

"Ieda! You're safe! And sound! You're safe and sound! YAY!"

"Um… what about your concerned brother over here?" Ray was standing off to the side waving with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't smiling, but it was obvious he wanted to.

"Why would you be worried about me? I'm supposed to be worried about you consideri—"

"IT'S ONLY BY THREE MINUTES." The feeling of wanting to smile completely vanished. Ray folded his arms.

"Anyway…" Tippi said, breaking up any chance for a possible fight, "I bet you're wondering where we are, right?"

"…Now that you mention it, yeah. Where are we?" she asked as she raised her hand to her head and started scratching it.

"Would you believe Heaven?"

"No… What's Ray doing in Heaven?" Ray sighed and face-palmed, Phred chuckled, Ieda couldn't hold back an amused smile, and Tippi moved in closer to explain the situation laughing to herself.

"Dimentio's attack scattered us all over Heaven and Hell and, coincidentally enough, this is where the last Pure Heart is." explained Tippi.

"Ohhhhhh. I don't get it."

"It matters not. So, thou wakest?" said Luvbi off screen again. She appeared from behind this time and introduced herself.

"I am Luvbi, I am bound for the Overthere, and I take yon travelers with me." Her gaze locked onto Rachel with a menacing chill as if she wanted to smack her for the foul deed she committed unknowingly. Which was kinda unfair seeing as Rachel had no idea about the Overthere's rules, but... It was clear Luvbi was not happy with Rachel.

"We're the ones taking you…" corrected Tippi.

"Is that so… Well, I'm Rachel and it's nice to meet you… Luvbi?" She extended a hand out so they could shake, but Luvbi ignored the gesture.

"That's her name, don't wear it out." Phred told her immediately after she took her hand back.

"I shall head onward, so dawdleth not! Dost thou heareth me, girl with lack of intelligence?" She flew off before Rachel could brutally respond to the insult.

"Don't worry about it, Rachel… she does that to everyone…"

"Oh, I must have causes all of you great distress… why am I speaking like that?"

"I'm telling you, it's the guy who's writing my life!" Ray exclaimed. Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Sorry you guys. Oh, God, I need another group hug! I'm _soooooo_ happy to see you all again!"

~~GROUP HUG~~

**~*-SPP-*~**

**RACHEL REJOINED YOUR PARTY!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Well, c'mon everyone! Let's get that last Pure Heart!"

_**Mere Minutes And One Level-Up (Attack) Later At A Cloud Named Cyrrus**_

"A switch! C'mon Hammer, I'm gonna smash it with ya; there's a great vibe between us…" Ieda walked on to go smash the switch while Rachel talked to an itty-bitty cloud. Ray, on the other hand, decided to torment Phred.

"Heh, looks like everyone's got a soul Pixl 'cept you, Jock."

"Well, _Emo_," Phred said, stressing the stereotype name, "I've got a pretty good idea who mine is."

"Really?" Tippi asked out of eavesdropping. "Who would that be?"

"Ti—" Phred never got past that second letter, for the itty-bitty cloud wasn't so itty-bitty anymore. Instead, a version of it five times as big stood in its place. Even Ieda, who was having fun hammering the ground well after she struck the switch, lost her focus and gazed at the monumental impossibility.

"Rachel, what the f—"

"I fed it a red apple!"

"But Rachel, we didn't have any other apples… That black one was the only one…"

"Before I fell asleep, I was exploring the place and found a bunch of other awesome apples. Except the yellow one; it gave me a mustache."

"I guess we can only go up from here on out… Let's get hopping along…" They nodded and jumped onto Cyrrus. They second they touched him, they flew at speeds only comparable to light. Each would have screamed, but the air was so suppressed that they couldn't even breathe.

They flew through many clouds, and then the one they were supposed to stop at. However, they kept going and going and going far past that point.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Rachel, Phred, Ray, Ieda, and Tippi found themselves on the brink of breaking free from gravity's pull. They still couldn't scream.

They hovered for no more than a few seconds, and then started their quick descent back to, what looked like, earth.

**~*-SPP-*~**

With a deafening plop, they landed on a cloud with a coliseum-like structure and the door in the middle of it next to them. Tippi, being the only member that was not on their stomach, decided it best to see what was behind the door. A few seconds later, she came back and found that the team was starting to feel better.

"…muh…" Phred mumbled. He found the strength to get up, followed by his companions shortly thereafter.

"Tippi," Phred started, "what just happened?"

"Guys, this is the door out of this enormous stair!"

"Then let's go."

"I feel like jumping onto the roof…" Ieda told them. So she did and found a nice Gold Bar worth a hundred coins. She jumped back down to her friends and told them.

"I guess we can always sell it…" Tippi suggested.

"We're wasting time! We've gotta get through the door!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"'Here Endeth Overthere Stair. The Overthere Is Over There'" Read a sign Phred read aloud.

"Well, at least we know that it _is _over there." Ray said, pointing to the star block.

"We gotta float over to it. Grab on, guys." Rachel commanded. When everyone grabbed on, they floated over the large gap. As they landed smoothly, Ieda wanted to jump on the roof of this structure too.

She jumped up and while she explored, Phred, Rachel, Ray, and Tippi all waited under the star block. She returned shortly with the news of finding a card.

Phred hit the star block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**White clouds as far as the  
eye could see…**

**Phred and Co. had climbed  
through clouds and finally  
reached The Overthere.**

"**Odd. No party springeth  
forth to welcome us,"  
wondered Luvbi aloud.**

"**It mattereth not. Father's  
shrine is just ahead, so we  
can walk there with ease."**

**But they would not arrive  
at the shrine as easily as  
Luvbi predicted.**

**Why not? Because something  
unexpected and dramatic  
was about to happen…**


	49. The Overthere in Ruins

World 7-4: The Overthere in Ruins

"Soon we shall meet with my father, Grambi." Started the excited Luvbi.

"You said that fifteen minutes ago! Ugh…" Moaned Ray, exhausted.

"Be thou on thy best behavior." Finished she.

"So… Grambi is your father?" Tippi asked.

"Thou art correct. Grambi is my father and Jaydes is my mother. Pray listen… I fell ill once, and my father never left my bedside." She adjusted her wings so she'd be holding herself. "They hath an overprotective side, verily, and I grow annoyed of it at times… but mayhap it is mine own fault for being so cute. They cannot help it!"

"You're not that cute." Rachel muttered under her breath.

"Uh, yes, surely… In any case, perhaps we'd better go meet that Grambi being." Suggested Tippi. Everyone agreed and they (including Luvbi this time) started to walk to the right.

"Hold on!" Ray shouted dramatically as they approached the unnamed enemies from the Stair. "I'll take care of those things." He started throwing knives at it and died from only two.

"It looked like that thing from the Stair… how odd." Tippi mused, turning her body to face Phred, then Rachel, then back again.

"C'mon, let's just ride the cloud up." The team looked around for the cloud mentioned… and then found it when they saw Ray on it. Everyone started to jump for it and, but it was too high for them. When it was as low as it could go, they all clambered on and stood with Ray as it ascended.

Up top, some more enemies waited to ambush, but Ieda beat Ray to the punch; she hammered the two enemies into oblivion.

"Nice timing, Ieda."

"Thanks!" She said as they continued walking to a locked door. They groaned in disappointment. But Luvbi pointed out that there was a cloud underneath them.

They jumped down and found that there was an unlocked door in between two pillars.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**HEEEEEELP!**" cried a nearby Nimbi being bullied by two enemies. The one to its left spoke first.

"Hwahwahwahwahwahwahwahwa! Awww, what's da matter?"

"C'mon! Fight back, ya big wimp, ya!" They team walked over to investigate. But they turned to — and focused — on Ray.

"Stop doing that!" He yelled to the narrator.

"What's YOUR beef, hah?" shouted the first to Ray.

"You have _no_ idea." He responded sounding annoyed. The two enemies looked at Ray's friends and then found Luvbi hidden among them.

"Oh, friend of the Nimbis, are ya? Then ya must be an enemy of US!" shouted the second.

"What? No! I'm a completely neutral party that's working for good and rooting for evil."

"RAY!" shouted everyone. It didn't matter, for the enemies didn't care.

"Taste spear!"

"Taste knife…" He said under his breath as he threw knives into the enemies before they could attack. When Ray was finished, Rachel ran over to the fallen Nimbi and helped it back up. However, it jumped up when she tried to talk to it.

"Th-Thou hast my gratitude. I know not who thou art, but thou didst save me…"

"We're the Heroes of Prophecy, in case you were wondering."

"Pray, speak," started Luvbi. "What hast happened hither?"

"A pox, verily… Yon fell beasts hath been flooding into the Overthere of late. They seek the Pure Heart… They need it, for they hat some plan most foul!"

"The Pure Heart!" They gasped.

"Yon beasts seek the Pure Heart! Foulness!" shouted Luvbi. "Only Father knoweth the Pure Heart's resting place… Father is in danger!"

"You mean they plan to kill God? Wow… They must be desperate." Ray thought.

"I yearn to hide, verily… but if thou seekest Grambi, thou shalt need this key." He handed them the door key that they figured was for the locked door they saw earlier.

"I cannot help more," he continued, "but prithee, protect Grambi! Um… Farewell." He then ran off.

"Let's get back to that door!" Ieda said.

**~*-SPP-*~**

On the other side, they found neither foe nor friend. Instead, nothing. They continued right and encountered their first sign of life eventually (it was foe).

Later, they found a girl Nimbi standing next to what appeared to be her frozen boyfrie— ...wait, frozen?

"What happened?" Rachel shout-asked.

"Sniff… Oh, woe is meeee… My darling man hath been frozen by brute monsters! I need him so… I am Fallbi, a helpless kitten compared to them! Oh, what shall I do?"

"We can help think of a way to help."

"I'll just stab it. Stand back." Ray said and commanded respectively. He pulled his arm back and swung with all his might.

CRACK!

The ice started cracking all over the place and eventually burst. The Nimbi inside still retained consciousness.

"Unnghh…" he managed.

"Darling dear!" screamed Fallbi.

"Fair Fallbi!" the boy Nimbi called

"Sniff… Thank heavens! Yon person helped thee."

"It seriously was nothing."

"Thou hast my thanks, yea. Pray, allow me to do something for thee in return."

"See what happens when you're nice, Ray?" Asked Rachel.

"I get showered with happiness." His entire body shuddered at the thought and his face bore a grimace. Rachel face-palmed as Fallbi suggested a gift.

"Yea, verily, darling dear! Perhaps if thou wouldst move the thou-knowest-what?"

"The... The what?"

"Fair Fallbi, thou art as clever as thou art adorable!"

"Oh, darling dear… 'Tis true, but how thou goest on! Let us away!" She started to walk off and her man followed.

"Isn't that cute?" Ieda asked as they walked over to the thou-knowest-what. Nobody heard her, unfortunately.

They decided to save before talking to Fallbi's boyfriend. When they did, they approached him as he began to talk.

"Sorry to makest thee wait… Behold the Overvator!"

"It's an elevator." Ray thought out loud.

"'Tis an Overvator. I owe thee for thine help. I operate yon lift. Prithee, let me giveth thee a ride."

"Thank you…" Tippi said.

"Goooooooing UP!" A control panel of screens popped up and showed it booting up. They disappeared, and they started lifting up. A few seconds later and they stopped next to a cloud.

"And yea, hither we are! Thank thee for using the Overvator!"

"Um…sure?"

They got off and passed a few more frozen Nimbis that Ray felt like saving out of pity (but really because Rachel forced him too). When he finished, they entered through the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The last Nimbi in this area that Ray saved was the most important one. And Ray's last save for a while.

"God, my arm hurts!"

"Whoa! Thank thee for thine help! My given name is Whibbi! I owe thee for that one! Thou art super!" Luvbi confronted Whibbi about her father rather than thank the stars that he was alright.

"Whibbi! Speakest of my father! How doth he fare?"

"…I am sorry, Luvbi. I could not stop yon beasts from entering Grambi's shrine. And the fiends wrecked the bridge once they crossed it… Help cannot reacheth him."

"Can we not rebuild this bridge?" Tippi asked.

"Hm… Mayhap." Thought Whibbi. "To rebuilt it, thou must find Rebbi, Blubi, and Yebbi, and get their three orbs."

"This sounds like a get quest," moaned Ray.

"Once thou hast them all, we can rebuild the bridge. Taketh this, and findeth the others… I beg of thee… Thou must help!" So the team acquired another door key and headed back to where Ray thought there was a locked door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**TAKETH THAT!**" Shouted someone across the way. Everyone squinted to see who it was that shouted the implied plea for help.

"It's Rebbi!" Ieda told them as he thrust a Skellobit (as they found out thanks to a card) over in their direction as it perished.

Rebbi backed up as more troops of evil closed in on him.

"He's… fatter than I imagined." Phred thought out loud.

"They come without pause…" Rebbi said. "Hm… Against such an assault, I cannot hope to last."

The team walked over to him to see what was going on. He, however, saw them as the reinforcements he requested. He walked off as they stood there dumbstruck. Ieda made short work of the Skellobits with Crudge.

Rebbi called the gang over when Ieda killed the spiky one.

"The foul beasts are no more!"

"Glad you noticed…"

"I am Rebbi! Thou hast saved me! I owe thee thanks." Luvbi floated over to him and started to relate the sad tale of the Heroes' journey through the Overthere.

"Rebbi! Grambi is in trouble! Hast thou the red orb?"

"Luvbi… The three orbs are not things to be given away lightly!"

"But the worlds are in danger!" Rachel told him.

"And God is in trouble."

"…These are dire times, are they not? I _do_ owe thee a big debt. Here, I give it to thee!

**~*-SPP-*~**

**You got a Red Orb!  
A red orb from Rebbi. It draws a bridge to the temple.**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"I will go thither and check on the others. If thou survivest, let us meet again!" With that he floated off and the Heroes went to find another orb.

* * *

***le gasp!* You totally didn't expect this to be divided into parts, did you? Well... ha! :D**

**So in the next chapter, Phred and Co. find the remaining orbs from their respective colours and, with a little luck, will make a mad dash to the Sanctuary to discuss the Pure Heart's location. But what mystery has Grambi shrouded in darkness all 1,500 years of the Pure Heart's existence? Only time - and a boss battle - will tell!**


	50. The Get Quest Continues

World 7-4 Continued: The Get-Quest Continues

"Those Mega Stars are so much fun!" Ieda told the gang as they caught up to her. Along their search, they came across an area that they hadn't accessed before behind... well, behind a door. They found it in 3-D like when Phred found the pipe behind the door in Fort Francis. Ieda, being the brave one to seek out a Question Mark block, discovered the awesomeness of the all-powerful Mega Star. Taking care not to step on her companions, she bashed through blocks and Skellobits forward until the effects wore off.

Now the gang stood at the end of the path.

"And who'd think that you'd actually be able to land the Merlee Wheel O' Fun while being mega?" Phred wondered.

"Who cares about that now? I've a feeling Blubi is here, so can Phred take us into 3-D?" Ray asked.

"Yeah, hold on." They grabbed on to each other and found themselves in the magical land of the third dimension again jumping across clouds. They exited 3-D and found another bathroom.

"You good Rachel?" Ray asked, jokingly. She ignored him purposely, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms with a huff.

Ieda knocked on the door and, to no one's surprise, someone answered.

"Are the fell beasts gone?" the voice asked. "So it is safe for me to come out thither? …By the way, who art thou?"

"Phred."

"Grambi." Rachel answered.

"A monster."

"Ray!" Ieda scolded.

"A monster? Thou LIEST! No monster wouldst admit to being a monster!"

"Ray, you're a genius!" Tippi complimented.

"Who said I was lying though?"

"Huh? Hold a moment… That meaneth… Thou art NOT a monster?" The gang got out of the way and Yebbi (_Damn!_ thought Ray) exited the bathroom.

"Hello to thee! I am Yebbi! Thou came to rescue me?"

"Sure…" Tippi said.

"Yebbi," Luvbi started as she floated over to him, "we must rebuild yon bridge to reach Grambi! Thou must givest us the yellow orb! If thou dost not, we shall tell all how long thou spent hiding in thither!"

"We're not starting rumors about complete strangers." Ieda told her.

"L-Luvbi? Oh prithee, thou must not tell! I shall do all thou askest!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

**You got a Yellow Orb!  
A yellow orb from Yebbi. It draws a bridge to the temple.**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"I should not hath hidden like a base coward. I goeth to help the others now… Be thou careful!" and with that, he left.

"Where could Blubi be?" Tippi asked.

"There is… _one_ place we haven't checked yet…" Ray told them. "Where we got the first key."

**~*-SPP-*~**

Ray thrust his arm into the ice and the blade of his knife shattered it all. Blubi was freed.

"Oh, thank thee! It is as though thou hast brought me back to life! I am Blubi!" Once again, Luvbi pined for the orb.

"We hasten to yonder shrine to help Grambi, so givest thy blue orb."

"What? Oh, indeed, I see… Fell beasts have attacked from the Underwhere…"

"What? Then Ray _wasn't_ the beast that those D-Men were guarding? Oh dear…" Tippi mused out loud for Phred to hear. He heard and understood what was going on.

_Those Skellobits _must_ be the henchmen of the monster, otherwise we'd be sailing up to Count Bleck's castle by now… So is thing an icy creature? I wonder…_

"Phred! Wake up, Phred! We're heading back to Whibbi." Rachel told him in a loud voice.

"Wha-? Oh, alright. Here I come."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Thou wantest to ride my darling's Overvator? Hold a moment… He descendeth." Fallbi told them. At that moment, the Overvator did descendeth- er, descend and Luvbi was nearly crushed, but moved out of the way at the last moment. She was angry, but forgave him.

Up they went and through the door to Whibbi they went.

When they met up with Whibbi, he told them to stand on the pedestal over yonder.

Phred jumped up onto the pedestal and Tippi handed him the orbs.

"Red… Blue… Yellow… There, that should do it…" With each placed orb, there was a column of light that matched the color of the orb placed. Also, there was a majestic ringing… though it was annoying soon enough.

Once all the orbs were placed, the pedestal emitted a white glow and the clouds started to rumble.

"What's happening?" Rachel asked as she fell over onto Ray's leg.

"The bridge! It's… playing… Tetris with itself." Ieda noticed as long pieces made the bridge entirely. When completed, it started changing colors. That's when they noticed…

"It's a rainbow!"

"Grambi is in danger grave… But we are all so weak…" Whibbi told them. "We must ask you… Savest him for us!"

"Of course we will!" Rachel, getting up, assured.

"Let's get moving! C'mon Luvbi, you too." Phred commanded. The team jumped over the bridge and entered the door leading to the shrine.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**HOLD IT!**" A Spiky Skellobit approached the intruders and wore the countenance of bewilderment.

"How'd you guys get in here? I thought we destroyed the bridge!"

"There's always a way to repair things… except Ray's soul. That's broken forever."

"Rachel!" Ray yelled.

"What? Isn't it true?"

"Now's not the time."

"Shuttest thy trap, foul one!" Luvbi shouted to the enemy. "Speakest! Dost my father fare well? _If thou hast hurt a whisker on his face, I SHALL END ALL THAT IS YOU!_"

"Luvbi…" Tippi groaned.

"Wh-Wh-Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? You little brat!" he turned around and called his army. Millions of Skellobombers and tons of Skellobits and Spiky Skellobits then approached.

"So, ya wanna see how scary we can be, little girly? Well, take a good look!"

"Oh dear, there seems to be a lot of them… I didn't know there were so many left…" Tippi noticed.

"Thanks a lot, Luvbi." Ieda groaned.

"CALM THY MIND!" Someone that sounded like Rebbi called from behind. They turned to see him.

"Rebbi!" Luvbi cried.

"I shall handle them!"

"You…" Tippi didn't finish, for Rebbi interrupted.

"At long last, my strength returned to me, and now these fiends shall reap the grim harvest of my Nimbi fury!" He turned to call _his_ army.

Millions of Nimbis flooded the sky, but one in particular caught Ray's attention.

"That… That looks like… No. It can't be."

"Hast thou fear of these fiends from the Underwhere?"

"_**NAAAAAY!**_" cried the army.

"Ooh, all tough 'cause ya go an army, huh? Let's see how ya do against MINE!" yelled the Spiky Skellobit.

"YOU'RE GOIN DOWN!"  
"THOU ART TOAST!"

"**CHAAARGE!**" cried both generals.

"Now's our chan- COME _ON_, RAY!" Rachel yelled, grabbing his wrist and trying to pull him. Amazing how he didn't even wince...

"Wait! I wanna check if I'm seeing correctly."

"WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE MIS-SEEING AT A TIME LIKE THIS?"

"I thought I saw… never mind. You're right. We've gotta get to that shrine."

"THEN LET'S GO ALREADY!" Phred shouted over the noise of the battle going on above.

The team rushed past a few grounded enemies and found the stairs leading up. Ray paused while the others climbed up to look back. Just to double check...

"Go Ray!" Called one of the Nimbis. Ray jumped at the voice. It was all too familiar to him... and it belonged to the Nimbi that he happened to be looking straight at. This Nimbi looked unique however; he had part of his hair over one eye.

"But... Is that you—"

"GO!" it yelled. Ray sighed, then reassured with an, "Okay," and regrouped with his friends at the top of the stairs.

"Where'd you disappear to?" Tippi asked.

"Don't think I'm crazy, but I think one of my childhood friends is fighting in that battle…"

Everyone: You're crazy.

"I told you NOT to think me crazy!"

"Ray, think about it," Rachel started, "What're the odds that someone you know _happens_ to be—"

"We can argue about that later! We've gotta get that last Pure Heart!"

"Phred's right… Let's go…"

* * *

**Cameo alert! For those of you that care about my picture, the one on our left of Ray appears in Nimbi form. He died when Ray was 12-ish (I don't have the exact details in front of me at the moment...) and I thought it would be nice if Ray knew that he went to Heaven through the game. He isn't actually a Nimbi, so creative licensing FTW! If you're _really_ curious, his name is Tedward.**

**I'm thinking that I should post the boss chapter tomorrow - for certain reasons I don't want to spoil yet - but then again, I don't because I still have that bet with Santa... I doubt I'll make it though. But I have a feeling if I post it at all, I'll get yelled at angrily. DX**


	51. A Bone Chilling Tale

**The boss battle is super duper short, but the _real_ battle begins with Luvbi and Grambi! ;D**

* * *

World 7-4 Concluded: A Bone-Chilling Tale

"Oh…no!" Luvbi cried out in horror. She flew like a jet over to a Nimbi with a veeeery long, white beard and the bushiest eyebrows ever. This was the face of God in the game.

"_That's_ God? I was expecting someone much… eh, what do I care?"

"Shush, Ray!" Phred whispered.

"Father! Father! Art thou all right?" Asked the concerned Luvbi.

"Luvbi… Thou should not… have come. Flee…from here…"

"What? No way is she leaving after all the trouble we went through to get her back!" Ieda protested.

"Brrrrooo ha ha ha ha ha…" a manically new voice laughed from behind Grambi. "A touching scene, to be sure." It roared.

"Hey!" Ieda yelled up to it. "You're the boss of all the crazy guys who escaped the Underwhere, aren't you?"

"Ieda, don't encourage it!" Ray shouted.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, I assure you. My name is Bonechill." The monster said.

Bonechill had a huge head connected to teeny-tiny limbs that made a stick figure look fat. Its head was made up of tile squares of a most bone chilling blue. He sported three sets of wings on his back and where the feet would be was a cannon on wheels.

"I am something of an evil celebrity in certain circles of the Underwhere," it informed.

"That may be, but my father shall never give you the Pure Heart so give up!" Taunted Luvbi. The only response it gave was laughter.

"Oh, you dear, ignorant child! Ha ha ha… You really don't know a thing, do you? How charming."

"What do you mean? You can't be suggesting… IMPOSSIBLE!" Tippi yelled.

"Wh-What dost he mean, fair Tipps?" Luvbi asked. Bonechill answered for her.

"Correct butterfly. I speak of the Pure Heart… And I speak of you, Luvbi… **IT IS YOU!**"

Everyone: _WHAT?_

"What…sayest thou?" Luvbi asked.

"The Pure Heart was hidden ingeniously to keep it away from evil sorts like me. Grambi here changed the Pure Heart into a Nimbi… that he called his own daughter!"

"Ha ha… Th-That is just silly… My mother and father…" Her voice trembled as she learned of her previous nature.

"Oh, priceless! You honestly think Grambi pays an ounce of attention to you out of _love_?"

"Th-That's… No… THOU LIEST! Father… Sayest something?"

"L-Luv…b…bi… Unnghhh…" was all he could say.

"Brrrrooo ha ha… The old fool can weigh the sins of others, but not his own."

"It cannot…be…" A tear started rolling down Luvbi's cheek.

"Luvbi, we can talk later… Right now, just take Grambi to safety…" Tippi ordered.

"I…"

"QUICKLY!"

"O-OK…" She rushed outside with her "father" and Bonechill turned back to Phred and the gang.

"Many thanks for delivering the Pure Heart. Once I deal with you, none shall stop me. I shall be INVINCIBLE!"

"You're NOT welcome."

"Please, as your games end, remember it is an honor to have it ended by my talons!"

"Ieda! You're our best shot! Think you can super jump onto his head?"

"Worth a shot!" She shrank down into the ground and charged her jump. Timing it perfectly was all that mattered. Bonechill's head stuck out and that's when Ieda soared. Her dash upwards tore out a huge chunk of his health; sixteen to be exact. A bonk on the head drained another seven.

Bonechill started breathing ice, but Ieda barely missed it and went up for another twenty-three (16 + 7). A few icicles did hit Ieda, but they didn't damage her too much.

Each time Ieda hit Bonechill, some of the tiles on his face came off. Near the end, his face was practically see through. The only part of his face that remained were his eyes. As Ieda hit him the final time, he froze.

"**BRRRAARGH!** How… Impossible… How could you puny worms…destroy…a master…of the cold dark?" With that, it roared one final time and started self-destructing. Its cannon blew apart, its head lost facial features, and his body decomposed and fell apart. Bonechill was no more.

Luvbi and Grambi reentered the shrine and thanked the Heroes for saving the Overthere.

"Thou…hast done a fine job… Thou hast saved our realm…"

"Father," Luvbi interrupted, "The words of that thing…were lies, yea? Thou and Mother art my parents?"

"Well… Luvbi…"

"Break out the popcorn."

"RAY!"

"**LUVBI!**"

"That sounded like… Jaydes?" Phred wondered. Sure enough, Queen Jaydes herself flew through the door.

"Mother!" Luvbi shouted.

"I had not received word of your safe arrival, so I came looking… Are you well?"

"Speakest to me now, mother! Father and thee… Art thou verily my parents?" Jaydes jumped in surprise.

"Wait a minute, why do you… WHAAAAAAT?"

"Prithee, mother, speakest the truth to me!" The mighty queen of the Underwhere held her head ashamed.

"…Luvbi… You… You are not really our child." She said turning away.

"…so it is…true…"

"Anybody got a Super Soda?"

"**RAY!**"

"The Pure Heart was always in danger of falling into the hands of evil, darling. So Grams and I decided to transform it into a shape that no one would suspect…"

"And that was…me?" Just then, a blinding flash of light filled the entire room… and it came from Luvbi.

"_WAAAAAAH!_" She screamed. Another flash and the Pure Heart white shone through its masterful disguise for a second. It disappeared and Luvbi stood where it had appeared.

"What…was that?" Asked Rachel and Jaydes.

"The Pure Heart doth struggle against the Luvbi identity… It seeketh its true form!" Grambi informed. "It doth sense someone nearby worthy of possessing it. It must be these fair folk…" Phred, Rachel, Ray, Ieda, and Tippi all stood erect when they heard that they were who Grambi was talking about.

"So, uh… Ha ha… Thou sayest I am meant to be with them? Phred verily is…my prince?"

"After me, of course." Rachel warned.

"This doth STINK! He is completely wrong for me! I speak seriously to you… This hath no humor to it."

"Well, you're not mine." Ray said.

"…Fine. I shall return to my Pure Heart form and I shall go with Phred and his friends."

"Thou art certain?" Asked Grambi.

"Hey, the apocalypse is nigh. We've _gotta_ take her as a Pure Heart!"

"Phred is right." Luvbi defended.

"If thou turnest back into the Pure Heart, the Nimbi Known as Luvbi…will cease to exist."

"Nay, perhaps I already have… I remember being the Pure Heart now, in truth… Wait, why do I explain myself to thee? Thou art not my real father, so QUIET!"

"Wh-What?"

"Ooh, here's where things get interesting— OW!" Rachel elbowed him harder than before.

"To think of all the times thou hast scolded me! Thou didst KNOW I was not long for this world! Why didst thou not let me have fun? Nay! Instead, I suffered an angry fake father and a nagging fake mother!"

"Why I never… Luvbi!"

"Sayest what thou wilt to me, but leave thy mother out of this! Talketh not to her that way! Perhaps thy sass shall end once thou changeth forms! What dost thou wait for?"

_Yes, Luvbi… What are you waiting for?_ Thought Tippi.

"Oh, giveth me a break! I must do it whether thou wish or not! It shall be a RELIEF!"

"Thou art an ungrateful brat! Dost thou not recall when I lingered by thy ill bedside?"

"I scoff at thy lingering! Why dost thou not giveth me back the present I bought with my saved allowance!"

"What madness doth spew from they lips? Who GAVETH thee that allowance? And thou didst lie to get the money, too! Thou didst pretend to buy schoolbooks!"

"So this is what God is like when he's angry…" Ray muttered at the risk of another elbow.

"_How dost thou DARE to lecture on lying? And why dost thou think I lied? I thought that Mother and thee… _I thought… Thou wouldst…be happy…"

"…" mumbled Grambi.

"The pair of thee… thou art not real parents… I… I… I hate thee…"

"…That is enough, Luvbi." Said the queen. "It is true that we created you as a means of protecting the Pure Heart, but Grams and I came to love you as a true daughter. We wanted to be with you for all time, to protect you. You became a part of us. …Perhaps we were wrong to create you…and if we only caused pain, we apologize." A few tears were falling from her eyes. Rachel started crying too.

"Oh, Mother… thou needst not apologize…" Tippi started to tear up too, "My dear mother… Thank thee." She then flashed again; the Pure Heart grew impatient.

"The Pure Heart doth wish to assume its original form…"

"Luvbi…" Grambi said holding back tears. Tippi started tearing up at this point, as did Phred and Ieda.

"Wimps."

"Tippi… Takest good care of the real me. And…savest the worlds, yea?"

"Of… Of course…" She said, sniffling.

"Such is my final wish, so if thou dost not do it, thou art most unkind!"

"I understand…" Luvbi turned to face Jaydes and Grambi once again.

"Father… Mother… Fare thee well…"

"Luvbi…"

"Oh, my darling…"

"Get on with it!"

"**SHUT UP RAY!**" Rachel's face turned red and she nearly punched him in the nose.

"I am sorry…for lying earlier… because in truth… I… I love thee…both!" Tears started to fall like water does from a faucet. She didn't cry much, for the Pure Heart shone twice, and then a third permanently.

"Oh, Luvbi…"

"Now," Grambi said, wiping his eyes of tears, "ye prophesied ones… Destined Heroes… Takest our dear daughter… Takest the Pure Heart."

"Can we not have a moment of silence for her?" Tippi asked.

_**One Minute Later…**_

"It's been a minute!" Ray shouted.

"Sweareth this to me… Thou must prevail! Let _no one else in this universe_ feel this sadness!" Grambi demanded.

"Anything to get going." Ray said, picking up Luvbi. Every Pixl danced the Pixl Dance one last time and the last Pure Heart was finally found.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**YOU GOT LUVBI— ER... I MEAN THE LAST PURE HEART!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**Heroes… My daughter  
wanted thee to save all  
worlds. 'Twas her final wish."**

**Grambi spoke slowly through  
his tears as the brave Nimbis  
cleaned up the Overthere.**

**Draped in sadness, Queen  
Jaydes walked slowly to her  
palace in the Underwhere.**

**Phred, his friends, and the  
eighth Pure Heart were all  
that remained…**

**This Pure Heart had come  
at a high price. Let us hope  
it was all worthwhile.**

**

* * *

**

**Cool! They have all the Pure Hearts now, so it's time for them to head back to Flopside for any final preparations. First though, we have one last scene in Castle Bleck...**

**Comment on how I could make the boss battle more epic or... well, longer than those short two paragraphs.**


	52. The Time is Nigh Upon Them

_**SOMEWHERE IN CASTLE BLECK…**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"WHAT? …Spat Count Bleck in utter disbelief. Surely this news cannot be true! The Heroes… _still live?_"

"Ah ha ha." Answered Dimentio. "Oh, I'm afraid so, my count. In fact, they will be here before long. " Sang the demonic jester.

"Whuh? Izzat true, then? What're we doin' twiddlin' our biscust 'ere?" shouted O'Chunks. "Count Bleck! Lemme go throw 'em a nice welcome party… I'll bring the punch!" The esteemed count actually laughed at the pun.

"Ooh, I wanna party with those party poopers, too! Wait up, O'Chunks! Mimimimimimi!" Mimi (who wore a cheerleader's outfit colored red and orange this time) said as the two left.

"Well, I'm not one to miss a party…" mused Dimentio. However, he remembered something and snapped his fingers (triggering no magic this time).

"Oh, but wait one moment… Dear Count… Does the name _Blumiere_ ring a bell?" Nastasia shot up like a rocket; the count raised his eyebrows momentarily. There was no traceable emotion on his face, but inside his heart skipped a beat in fear.

"Where did you hear that name, Dimentio?"

"Oh, the blonds' Pixl went on and on… She said, 'I must stop Blumiere!' But I suppose there's no reason to pay any mind to the ramblings of a Pixl." Bleck tipped his hat in thought.

"Oh, well. Ciao for now, my count! " He left.

"Count Bleck!" Nastasia started, "If… Um… If that Pixl is who you think it is… There's still time! You can still stop the prophecy from destroying everything! Yeah, because, if that's really her… If she's alive, you have to stop all this!"

"You know not what you are saying, Nastasia." He said. "The prophecy can no longer be stopped by Count Bleck! No one can stop it!"

"Yeah, I'm on board with what you're saying…but there must be a way. There must… **Lord Blumiere!**" This was her personal last chance. If this failed, the worlds - and the one in which she revolved around - were doomed.

"_Bleh heh heh heh heh…_ The man known as Blumiere died long ago!" She sighed. "_Now there is only Bleck! The Dark Prognosticus' choice to fulfill the prophecy! NOTHING MORE!_"

"…But…"

"**COME TO COUNT BLECK, HEROES! IF YOU HOPE TO SAVE THESE WORLDS AND YOUR OWN, THEN COME!**"

_**BLEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK!**_

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**Blumiere, my son, don't!  
Even your ancestors could  
not handle that dark book…**

**If you open it…there's no  
telling what might happen!"**

"**I do not care, Father!  
A world without her is empty.  
A LIFE without her is empty!**

**Speak, Dark Prognosticus!  
Teach your dark history!  
I await your command!"**

"**BLEH HEH HEH! BLECK!"**

"**Blumiere… What have you  
done?"**

"**Silence! The first prophecy  
beckons. I will erase every  
inch…of this blasted world!"**

"**Blu-Blumiere! Don't do  
this! Blumiere!"**

"**BLUMIERE IS NO MORE!  
I am Count Bleck! And **_**no  
one**_** shall stand in my way!**

**BLEH HEH HEH! BLECK!"**


	53. The Time is Nigh Upon Us

**Oh, so now that we're near the end of the story it's getting more and more hits... how does that work?**

**...Lol, idc as long as you enjoy the story.**

* * *

"NO! BLUMIERE! YOU MUSTN'T!" The screen brightened, revealing The Void in the sky had grown even more since their departure for the Underwhere. The camera then panned down to reveal Phred and friends standing around Tippi, each with their own version of worry on their faces.

"Darling… How could you…? _Oh… Darling… You… Why?_"

"Tippi, please! Snap out of it, will ya?" Phred, on the verge of crying out of fear, shouted.

"…What?" She finally came to her senses and entered reality. She breathed heavily, her wings felt tired, and she felt crowded.

"Oh, thank goodness you're all right! I thought you were having a seizure or something." Rachel sighed a huge sigh or relief. "Then you started shouting loudly. I've gotta say, it sorta startled me."

"Are you okay butterfly?" Ray asked opposite of Rachel.

"Um… I'm all right… I just need some space and air and I'll be better... I'm sorry I startled you all…"

"Blumiere… I remember you saying that when we put in the seventh Pure Heart." Recognized Ieda. "He must have something to do with your past."

"No! I mean, no… It's nothing… Nothing at all…"

"Well then," said Phred, "I guess we've nothing better to do than go to Merlon's and tell him about the last Pure Heart."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"So… we have gathered all the Pure Hearts and all four of the Heroes it seems." If Merlon were overjoyed, he sure was hiding it.

"Now we go bust Bleck's plan by storming into his private room! Should be most fun." Ray thought.

"I fear for everyone… all those poor, worried souls looking up for a full moon and finding a spiraling purple vortex about to destroy them. It saddens me. Oh, we've gotta act quickly and ease their hearts and minds!" Rachel nodded at Ieda's statement

Tippi: …

"What troubles you, Tippi?" Merlon asked.

"The Prophecy. Do we _really_ have to destroy Count Bleck to stop all this from happening?"

"Much of the dark prophecy has already come to pass… but stop it we must! 'Twas by Bleck's hand that the Chaos Heart was summoned, and without him, the prophecy's power will wither and all worlds can avoid their ends… save Sammer's Kingdom of course."

Tippi sighed and said, "Yes… I suppose you're right… I guess we always knew that, didn't we…"

"Tipps, what's wrong? Why so melancholy?"

"My dear… was there something between you and this Count Bleck?"

"Umm… No, nothing." She lied. "It was nothing. I'm fine! Let's go…"

"…Very well, then. Once again, your first task is to set the quintessential Pure Heart in the last Heart Pillar. Once you've done that, you must head back to the tower in Flopside."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Well, here we are… who wants to put Luvbi in there?"

"I think it should be Phred." Rachel voted.

"Phred."

"Phred… though it's not my first choice."

"Phred…"

"Okay then. I guess I'll put her in then." Ray handed him the last Pure Heart and touched the last Heart Pillar. The heart zoomed upwards, and then back down into the hole, just as always.

The circular lines appeared again, one final time, and were nearly white as snow. They spun and spun and turned like there was no tomorrow.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Flopside Tower. The camera zoomed in on the center of the tower and the last door drew itself. Instead of black lines, they were some shade of magenta. The insides of the door were filled in with black and the lines… they too were magenta. This most oddly color-coordinated door led to Count Bleck and his minions.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"So the time has come…" Called Nolrem to the gang as they started heading to the Flopside Tower. He approached them and continued talking. "Heroes… The last door is at the tip of Flopside Tower in the center of the town. I'll go ahead and wait there for you. Once you've prepared for the battle that waits beyond that door, come to me…" He walked off.

There was a moment of silence.

"I think we're pretty ready. Don't you think, Tipps?" Phred asked.

"If you're ready, I'm ready." She said.

"Well, it couldn't hurt to check out the store, could it?"

"We haven't much time for the worlds, Rach, so I think it would hurt."

"Just a suggestion, Ray. Gosh."

"So it's agreed, then? We head up without delay?"

"You got it, Ieda!"

"Then what're we waiting for? Let's go already!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

Nolrem stood in the way of the Heroes and the door to everyone's destiny. Merlon was present as well, but he stood on the other side of the enormous door.

"This is the final door." Nolrem said. "Eight Pure Hearts, four great Heroes, and hope for a brighter future versus the Chaos Heart, a band of villains, and hope for an end to existance… Castle Bleck waits."

"There was something," Merlon chimed in from behind, "on the last page of the Light Prognosticus. 'Only those who have not abandoned hope can turn back the prophecy of doom. They walk forward into the future, no matter how dark and uncertain it may be.'

"You have fought all this way because you believed the future could be bright. I can't go through this door with you, but I send you with all the hope in my heart." Nolrem clasped his hands together and bowed his head.

Merlon did the same as he said, "I know that you can do it. I, too, believe it in my heart."

"Thanks." Phred plainly said.

"Thank you, both of you." Rachel, in a tender manner, thanked.

"Leave it to us!" reassured Ieda.

"Not to hurry you, but we've got some worlds to save." You can guess who said this…

"Tippi… I don't know what's in your mind, but if this is too hard for you, please feel free to stay behind."

"NO! I'm going! I've decided… I _must_ do this…"

"Tippi, if your memory returns…" Merlon paused a second, chocking on tears, and changed what he was saying, "Oh, Tippi, you've changed so much. You've grown so strong…"

"Merlon has grown fond of you as a friend, fair Tippi. It'd be best if you returned to him safe and sound."

"I will, Nolrem." She turned to her friends. "Let's go! Let's defeat Count Bleck! Let's save all these worlds from destruction! Let's—"

"Practice what we preach and go through that door already!" Ray finished.

The Void grew substantially as they stood there talking as if this were the final good-bye.

"And hurry!" Warned Merlon.

"At this rate," Nolrem said, "I calculate that we have no more than three hours at best."

"Three…hours…?" Rachel asked, astonished. "But how did you-"

"Precisely." Nolrem assured not hearing her next question, looking up at the Void. "In that black span of nothingness you will find Castle Bleck. You may face battles harder than any of you have endured thus far. If you feel ready to face this challenge, then please go forward."

Phred opened the door and in they went. This was it, no turning back… The final battle was near.

"Phred… Rachel… Raymond… Ieda… Good luck." whispered Nolrem.

_And you too, Tippi_. Merlon thought.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**After finding every Pure  
Heart, the band of Heroes  
set off for Castle Bleck.**

**The stakes were high as  
the ominous Void grew larger  
and the end drew near.**

**Could Phred and friends  
stave off the inevitable and  
overturn the prophecy?**

…**And what strange twist  
of fait awaited Tippi and  
Count Bleck?**

**These thoughts plagued the  
minds of our Heroes as the  
curtain rose on the final act…**

**With all the worlds and  
every country on earth  
rooting for another day.**

**Nolrem's Doomsday calculation,  
as most of the world figured  
with mental math skills…**

**Would be that The  
Void would consume all…**

**At midnight.**

**

* * *

Cliché time limit! *shot* But now it's time for a chain of Boss Fights. Plus an extra one...? Hmmm... well, we'll see when we get there. ;D**


	54. The Impending Darkness

World 8-1: The Impending Darkness

Phred stepped out the large door, followed by Tippi, Rachel, Ray, and Ieda in that order. They paused a minute to gaze at their surroundings.

"So this is what's in The Void?" Phred asked.

"Just like I remember…" complained Rachel and Ieda.  
"Just like I remember!" cheered an oddly happy Ray.

"Well… here we are at last… Count Bleck's castle." Stated Tippi gazing at the marvelously constructed castle at the end of the walkway.

"Pretty monotone, wouldn't you say?" asked Phred.

"It _could_ do with some color…" Tippi said. She then sighed because it appeared she sensed something.

"So Blumiere IS here…"

"Butterfly?" Ray asked, looking at her.

"Er… Never mind. Uh, we'd better get going."

The gang agreed and walked over to the door of the castle silently, entering.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Hey! I remember this balcony thingy." Rachel said as the team entered through a wrong door. It ended up taking them outside onto some sort of bridge that didn't lead anywhere. "Yeah! I'd recognize this anywhere. This is where Nassy almost took me prisoner."

"...Nassy?" Ray asked.

"Nastasia. Bleck's secretary. You remember… that woman who hypnotized you at the wedding?"

"Oh… you gave her a _nickname_?"

"C'mon, you two… we've gotta keep trudging along." Phred called out to them.

"Oh, let them be for a few minutes, Phred." Ieda suggested.

"Ieda, we can't waste time anymore. We've less than three hours to get to Bleck and stop all this!"

"But there've been no enemies so far. And at this rate, we'll be at Bleck before we know it. I'm sure we can spare five minutes."

_**Ten Minutes Later…**_

"So I was wrong." Ieda stated, taking out her cell phone and looking at the time.

"Alright… C'mon," Phred announced to the twins. "We've got a Count to pounce."

"Phred!" Tippi protested angrily.

"Sorry, Tipps." He apologized, turning to look at her as he did. He turned back to Ray and Rachel and called for them again.

"Do we have to go?"

"Yes! Now get over here or we're leaving you." The two trudged over to them.

"Now… Let's go…" Tippi said.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The team came upon a strange arrangement of torches; only the second, third, and fifth were lit.

"What do you think it means?" Rachel asked.

"Maybe there's a reason for it in the next room."

"Then let's go. We've got another set of stairs to climb." Ray said.

When the team reached the top, they found an Ultra Shroom waiting in a Mystery Box. As they ate it, the points gained from it leveled them up.

"Yay! 5 extra health!" Cheered everyone. Their short celebration ended and they entered the next door only to find…

"More torches? Figures…"

"But none of these are lit up…" Tippi noticed.

"…Oh, I get it. We light the ones that were lit back in the last room. But how?"

"There's a button on this torch that says 'On.' Should I press it?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Phred absent-mindedly said, not even listening to what Rachel was talking about. "Ray, do you still have those rocks from the Gap of Crag?"

A click, and the room got warmer and slightly brighter.

"_Pfft_. No. Why should I?"

The room grew hot and started to get too bright with a second click.

"Hey, you too. Is it just me or is it hot in here?" Asked Ieda.

"Yes… I grow warm too. I wonder what's hap— Rachel! What're you doing?"

"I'm lighting the torches! See?" As proof, she pressed the button on the last torch.

As soon as the button clicked and the torch lit up, giant stairs started drawing themselves a few feet away. Up they rose, until they nearly touched the ceiling.

"Whoa! We've gotta climb THAT?"

"It appears so…" Tippi answered for Ray.

"We better get started." Ieda suggested.

_**One Minute Later At The Top Of The Stairs…**_

"Was that really so bad, Ray?" Phred asked.

"Shut up! It looked more intimidating than it actually was."

"Well… We should—" Tippi stopped talking suddenly and froze up.

"Tippi?" Rachel asked, concerned.

"My Scottish sense is tingling…" Tippi announced. Phred's fist instantly balled up.

"You can sense ethnicities?" Ieda asked.

"Long story, Ieda." Ray explained. "We'll tell you later."

"Well, we haven't got all day! Let's just kick his ass again and go on!" Rachel cheered.

"Yeah… Let's go…"

**~*-SPP-*~**

They were greeted with a "**HARBLE-DEH!**" upon walking in. The gang walked closer and approached the bearded menace.

"Slap me down with a slab o' mutton, I never would o' thought yeh'd make it 'ere!"

"You thought wrong." Phred declared.

"I'll tell yeh this, though, yeh shouldn't 'ave been such a fork in me rumpus 'cus now I 'ave to hit yeh with the full force o' me chunks!"

Ray's laughter filled the room for more than thirty seconds.

"Oh, God that's rich! You," he pointed over at O'Chunks, "have been pummeled by this," he put his hand on Phred's shoulder, "pathetic waste of a life, like, five times already!"

"Ray… if you're not careful, you're next."

"Shut up, I'm helping you. Now where was I… Oh, yeah. You've been defeated, like, five times and you expect to defeat _us_? Oh, I gotta laugh again." So he did.

"'**OW DARE YEH!**" screamed the burly man.

"I could SO take you on alone! I'm practically your height, it's embarrassing how you can't defeat someone smaller than you."

"WHAAAAA? 'Ow about provin' it, then!"

"My pleasure… my last boss battle was that giant Blooper; I'm overdue."

"Ray! What're you doing?"

"Don't worry, Rachel. I'll be fine. You better pray for this guy though. Go through that door over there, and I'll meet up with you in ten seconds flat."

"…be careful…" And with that, the three others walked out on the other side of the room. All that was left were equal heighted duelists. They shared a small silence.

"I'm gonna 'urtle into yeh with the force of a massive, 'airy commet, yeh great crybaby!"

"I'M NOT A CRYBABY!"

"Then what're teh cuts an' scratches fer, show an' tell?"

"I just have a depressing backstory, that's all."

"Well I don' care… CHUNK UP!" As he chanted the phrase, he started flashing and growing. When he stopped growing, there was a two head difference in height.

Ray: 0.o;;

"Bet yeh weren't 'specting THAT, were yeh? Where's yer flappin' mouth now, eh?"

"With my friends… so if you don't mind, I'll just go find it… uh… over there!" He started running away. He reached the wrong door, not realizing it, and started jiggling the handle.

"Locked? ! Oh… poopy."

"Har har har! It be time fer an old-fashioned, no-'olds-barred… _**RUMBLE!**_"

"Ray!" Tippi called from behind O'Chunks.

"Tippi? Now's… NOT THE BEST TIME! AHHH!" He screamed as he nearly avoided the brute. "What're you doing here? !"

"Phred sent me… he felt you'd need me. I asked Ieda to lend me Crudge—"

"Oi! Yer interruptin' our brawl! Stop talkin' an' fight already!" roared O'Chunks.

"As you wish…" He shouted, throwing one of his knives at the giant not even giving him a chance to attack.

"Oi! Tha' was a cheap shot!"

"Well then, that'll teach you to pick—" Ray threw another one at O'Chunks.

"On someone—" And another.

"Your own—" …And another.

"SIZE!" With the last one, he pulled out the original knife from the birthday party and lunged over to stab him in the side. Tippi floated back, as did Crudge as O'Chunks cried out in agonizing pain.

Blood splattered everywhere, including Ray's face, and started pooling on the floor. The great beast fell to the bloody floor and Ray simply stood over him wiping the blood off the knife with his shirt.

"Had enough?" Ray asked as O'Chunks shrank down to his normal 6'3 appearance.

"'Ow could yeh be chunkier than I? 'Specially with all them cheap shots?"

"I'm that good." He sighed.

"Ray… you've nearly killed him…" Tippi said, noticing how much blood there was on the floor opposed to in O'Chunks.

"Well, what else was I supposed to do? I couldn't jump up and hit him!"

"…I see what you mean… never mind then."

"'Ey, 'Mond… End me game now…" wheezed the nearly dead man. "I can't live with teh shame o' losin' to a cheat."

"Oh, get up you pansy." Ray insulted. When O'Chunks didn't do anything, Ray finally gave in and whined, "Fine, I'll help you out a bit. Here's a Shroom Shake… that should heal you up." And indeed it did. As if by magic, all the blood on the floor was being vacuumed up back into O'Chunks. He now had the strength to stand and thank Ray properly.

"Ray… why would you do that?"

"I'm soulless, not heartless."

Just then, the ground started to shake.

"Tippi? What's all the shaking?"

"I haven't the faintest…"

"Teh celin'! It's collapsin'!" Shouted O'Chunks.

Ray and Tippi looked up and the roof was actually collapsing.

"F F F F F F F F F! AHHH!"

"This can't be… no…"

A flash of white light came out of nowhere as the ceiling fell towards the three.

…

…

…?

"Why aren't I dead _this_ time?" Asked Ray. He looked up from his fetal position and saw that O'Chunks was holding the ceiling up with his bare might.

"HUUUURRRK!" he gasped, struggling with every passing second.

"WTF? You saved me? Why?"

"_What're yeh waitin' fer? Get out o' this place!_"

"But… why?"

"Ray, we haven't got much time!"

"_Yeh made up fer yerself by teh shake thingy… helpin' out a weaklin' like me after that unfair spankin… Yeh earned the right to pass!_" He groaned again.

"Dude… you're stronger than I thought. I'm staying with you!" Ray then foolishly put his arms up to help out.

"God, this this if effin' heavy!"

"What're yeh doin'?"

"Yes, Ray, what are you doing? !" Ray didn't answer the question. Instead he commanded Tippi.

"Tell Phred to take care of the girls! Carrie, you go with Tippi!"

"But…"

"GO!"

Reluctantly, Tippi and Carrie (who, yes, was _still_ under Ray) evacuated the room.

"I never thought this would be a possibility for my death… holding a ceiling. What a joke! This is either the game's doing or the author is just running out of ideas."

"What're yeh blatherin' 'bout?"

"Oh… Noth—" That's when the ceiling collapsed.

**~*-THUD!-*~**

"Tippi! And Carrie? But… where's Ray?" asked Phred.

Tippi only shook her head. "He didn't come… He fell victim to the ceiling…"

"Ray…" Rachel whispered, crying. Ieda ran to the door. Trying to open it, she too started to cry.

"The door… it won't budge…"

"It's official… Raymond Brekon is dead, I guess…"

"Don't say that Tipps!" shouted Rachel through her tears. "He hasn't died in the past, he hasn't died NOW!" She ran to Phred's shoulder.

"I believe you Rachel, but we can't mourn forever. We've got to keep moving. I bet that's what Ray'd want."

"No." she sniffled. "Probably not, but you're right. We have to... now for Ray."

Rachel started wiping her tears off on her shirt and declared, "Let's move on to Count Bleck."

Phred agreed, as did Ieda, who was wiping off tears on her shirt, and Tippi. At the end of the room stood the Star Block.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**An endless labyrinth of  
mind-boggling turns and  
deadly corners…**

**This final journey was more  
dangerous and trying than  
our Heroes had seen before.**

**Phred and friends kept on  
without Ray, who was  
lost in the duel.**

**There was no time to stop  
and search for him, or  
even grieve…**

**Our Heroes knew they had  
to rush toward the final  
with Count Bleck.**

**With all the world watching.**


	55. Revenge of the Nerr!

World 8-2 (Part 1): Nerd Wars II - Revenge of the Nerr!

The room started shaking and then stopped for the umpteenth time in a row.

"Another tremor. I've lost count of them all." Ieda announced.

"Isn't it strange?" Rachel asked.

"What?"

"Well, this is Count Bleck's private castle, right? Why would he let the destruction ravage his own home?"

"Hmmm. That is weird."

"And what sort of evil plan would it be if he destroys himself in the process?" she continued.

"…are you thinking this is actually a suicide thing?" Ieda realized.

"It's quite possible… he did lose his dearly beloved…" Tippi answered.

"Wait, how do you know that?" Ieda asked, looking skeptical.

"Know what? Excuse me, I need to talk to myself over… there." She said.

She floated over to where she thought the team wouldn't be able to hear her and started whispering, "Blumiere… so it really is you… you needn't kill yourself along with this, I'm here now. Please rethink this entire plan."

Phred and the others saw Tippi starting to shake. Phred walked over and touched Tippi on the shoulder/wing.

"Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should go back to Merlon and Nolrem."

"No… I must go with you all… I'm sorry… Ahem, uhhh… Let's just keep moving. We need to find Count Bleck soon…"

"You got that right; I think we've got less than two and a half hours now."

Emiloy confirmed that from the other side of the television screen.

**~*-SPP-*~**

In the next room, who should they find but…

"MERLON?" They all shouted.

"Oh ho ho! You've finally arrived!"

"What're you doing here?" Rachel asked.

"And what's with the floating box?" Ieda asked.

"All shall be explained! Please… I found a fascinating passage in the book, so I rushed here to tell you!"

"The Light Prognosticus?" He nodded.

"Sure, whatever. It says that to get to the count-y— er, Count Bleck, you must strike this totally unsuspicious block!"

"…That's not in the Light Prognosticus…" Tippi assured.

"Uh… it was erased! You know how those Ancients can get so unsure of themselves. I had it digitally scanned and that passage came up on the back cover!"

"…Why don't I believe you?" Phred asked.

"Because you haven't the entire course of this trek! Now why don't _you_," he pointed to Ieda, "have a jolly good whack at it? Don't be shy!"

Ieda slowly walked under the block, unsure of what would happen. She jumped and struck it.

Nothing happened.

"Wait… You're not— AIIIYYYEE!" The floor beneath them collapsed and all of them fell down into the pit.

"Tee hee, what a bunch of suckers!" said Mimi, transforming from her costume. She wore a dress similar to her yellow one, only it was white and red spotted; she wore a hair bow.

**~*-SPP-*~**

BOOM! went Boomer against the crack in the wall.

"Now we're getting somewhere! Everyone through the hole!" Phred said as he flipped both females into 3-D. They rushed through and returned back to 2-D.

"Uh, now what?" Rachel asked.

"We should try that door…" Tippi suggested, indicating the door next to the hole.

They found fire and a lot of it. Expertly dodging each spinning line of it, they came upon a red block.

"I wonder what happens when you hit it… Try it Phred…"

Phred did and the room rumbled with each hit he made.

"I think that's enough. C'mon. Get us back out of this death trap." Phred flipped everyone into 3-D and led them back.

When they returned, they found that the pipe had moved.

"So that's what the rumbling was… Up we go!" Cheered Rachel.

"When she dies, the world will be a darker place." Phred mused out loud as he followed Rachel.

Rachel had found a key, as Phred, Ieda, and Tippi learned as they exited the pipe.

"But how do we get out of here?"

"Phred… what's the one thing I keep reminding you about?" Tippi asked. He lightly chuckled and grabbed hold of the girls. He found a small hole and dropped down it, finding that that's where they were before.

"Let's go." Ieda said as Phred turned the key.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"How magnificent, you have arrived! I saw in the stars you would survive."

"…Merlee…?" Rachel asked.

"Heroes, do not flee! For I am the lovely and—"

"We know who you are! What do you want now of all times?" Phred asked annoyed.

"My beauty and the stars led you here. Rest now, for you have nothing to fear!" She claimed, ignoring Phred.

"You know, the last time she ignored Phred was when she was Mimi… be on your guard…" Tippi advised.

"I will now ask you questions three; the answers will hold your future's key.  
And you must answer each and every query honestly and fairly!  
Here we go! Time to start the show!"

Which one of these beasts is hardest for you to make deceased?  
_Goomba  
Clubba  
Ultra Shroom_

"Definitely the Ultra Shroom. So hard to divide all the work (of eating it)." Rachel answered.

"Hee hee… so that one there gives you the biggest scare?" She laughed before asking the next query.

Next, which one of these fearsome three most rattles your knees?  
_Fuzzies  
Hammer Bros.  
Thunder Rage_

"The Thunder Rage. It always zaps me." Phred said.

"You are most scared of those? Hee hee! That's very good to know."

"Can we have the last question? I'm dying to know it…" Ieda stated.

Now which of these do you despise like fleas?  
_Amazy Dayzee  
FRANCIS  
Cooking Mistake_

"FRANCIS?" Tippi blurted out before Ieda could answer with the third. "Oh… crap."

"Tippi! Language."

"_That is what makes you so very furious? Indeed, how very curious…!_  
Well, it's been marvelous fun, but I'm afraid our time together is quite done…  
But do not fear or fret! No! We shall meet again yet! Hee hee hee hee hee!" With that she walked off.

"Thanks Tippi. Now we actually have to fight that geek." Phred said.

"I'm sorry! It was impulsive… I messed this up, didn't I? Maybe I _should_ go back to Merlon… the real one, not the Mimi one."

"He knows which." Rachel said. "No, you've gotta come with us. You've come so far; you can't give up now! We're gonna go battle your worst fear once and for all now!"

"I think her worst fear is losing that Blumiere… not a giant chameleon."

"No… Rachel's right… he _is_ my greatest fear."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Nerrrrrr… what's going on? Oooohhhh…" Francis rubbed his head. It was apparent that he had suffered some great fall; he was in pain, it looked like.

He soon realized who was there, though.

"It's my schweet, schweeeeeet Francine!" He got up and hopped over to Tippi.

"Oh no… It's you… What are you doing here…?" Tippi asked sarcastically.

"I don't know! I was in my comfy chair watching _Starship X-Naut_, then I warped here! Maybe my Reclinotron 4500 extrapolated my dreams and couch-warped me to you!"

Everyone: *face palm*

"But nothing is going to take me away from you this time, Francine! This I so swear!" he vowed… quite loudly really.

"Time to run around!" Rachel said. "I'll take care of him, you guys just stay out of harm's way."

"Shouldn't we just exit?" Phred asked.

"The doors are probably locked. Just stand in the corner. Tippi, Boomer, c'mon. We're hacking this Linux once and for all!"

"That was very 'punny!'" commented Ieda before she followed Phred to the corner. Francis flashed his camera making everything blinding.

"OW MY EYES!" "Who's that?" "That's me!" "Oh! Sorry Phred."

When the lights died down, Rachel had time enough to spot Francis. Too late though, he disappeared.

"I hate that he's a chameleon!" Rachel yelled.

"Just catch him off guard." Phred enthusiastically tried to cheer.

That actually did catch Francis off guard, which gave Rachel enough time to jump on him.

"Yay!"

"Do it again! Do it again!" Cheered Ieda.

Rachel tried to look for the annoying geek. He eventually reappeared again, and flashed his camera.

"Dude, take that thing off 'flash' please!" Rachel yelled at him.

"Nerrrrrrr! Why should I listen to the hawt babe that destroyed my patch?"

"Because a smart boy wouldn't piss me off." She muttered under her breath, scowling.

"Ignore him, just jump him!"

"AIM FOR THE JUGULAR!" Ieda quoted.

Rachel turned both ways and found that Francis had reappeared right next to her, camera ready.

"Oh, no you don't!" She said, jumping up and landing on his head.

"'Atta girl!" Phred praised.

Francis reappeared and summoned some cat-robots, which looked armed and ready to blow up, with his laptop. Rachel just missed him as he disappeared. In the mean time, she decimated the mini robots.

He resurfaced and Rachel didn't miss this time.

"Nice one, Rachel…" complimented Tippi as Rachel was doing a trick in mid air.

"Thanks, but it's not over yet."

"I think two more hits and he's a goner…"

"Then let's do this thing!"

Francis overheard this and set his Meow-bomb things to blow up faster. He didn't use his camera anymore (thank goodness), but seldom appeared.

"He just had to overhear that." Phred commented.

"There he is!" Ieda announced. He was right next to Rachel and was about to summon more cats, when she bashed his head.

"Nerrr! So not hi-technicaaaaaaaal right now! Just give me Francine!"

"NEVER, YOU JERK!" He disappeared again when Rachel said that.

Over the course of the battle, Rachel was starting to feel faint; she had been hit a couple times by the kamikaze robots.

"Phred, I don't feel to strong… Can I use one of our Shroom Shakes?"

"You don't have to ask."

She instantly chugged one and regained most of her stamina back. Francis reappeared, lucky for Rachel, and didn't have time to disappear. Rachel struck the final blow and he cried for mommy.

"NERRRR! That's impossible… my hi-technicaaaal battle moves failed me!"

"Yay for us!" Ieda cheered.

"That's IT! I'm going to run a simulation on my computer to figure out what went wrong!" He then disappeared by his supposed "couch-teleportation" and didn't come back.

"That was… odd. I mean, I'm super glad we won, but he seemed… different. As if he grew a backbone or something."

"Him? Backbone?" Phred asked. "Please."

"Well, we can go through the door now… Let's go battle Mimi…" Tippi suggested.

"Let's!" agreed Rachel.

* * *

**So here's the plan with the next chapter: Mimi will be battled, then what is remaining of the team will wander through the next part of Castle Bleck. Simple, no? Well yes it is.**


	56. Mimi and the Mirrors

World 8-2 (Part 2) and World 8-3 (Part 1): Mimi and the Mirrors

"**EEEEEEK!**" Cried Mimi from the middle of the next room. It startled everyone so much that they jumped back. However, when they got a closer look, it was Merlee who shouted; not Mimi… even though it sounded like her.

"What are you trying to pull? IMPOSSIBLE!" She then poofed and transformed.

"Finally! We were wondering what you were wearing this time."

"SHUT UP! Boys are _SO ANNOYING!_ Especially when they beat everything they hate! ...How _did_ you three get past all that icky stuff?"

"Well-" Rachel started.

"I don't want to hear it! You people were probably lying anyway!"

"You know what? You kept lying to us by being Merlon and Merlee, so how dare you lecture us!" deflected Rachel.

"Rachel…"

"You should feel ashamed of yourself!" Rachel finished.

"Ashamed… of myself? I like getting what I want! Even if it means being mean." She went silent for a moment. Then, "Golly, you sure are a lot of talk when you have your little boyfriend to protect you."

"…Little?"

"THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU! YOU ARE GOING DOWN _NOW_!"

"Uh… Rachel…" Tippi started.

"Shush! I'm doing this alone."

"But Rachel! Remember what happened to Ray!" Phred quickly argued.

"Then I'll do this in honor of him or someting. Now go!" Phred and Ieda quickly rushed out the door past Mimi; Tippi stayed behind to help out again just in case.

"Awww… The pretty widdle 'princess' wants to face me all alone? Then that's what you'll get!"

Mimi started to chant her name. Then along came the transformation process.

"It's battle time." declared Rachel.

The spider walked over to the wall and grabbed hold of the ceiling. Rachel tried to damage her, but she missed and landed on the floor.

"Oof!" Mimi came down from the ceiling and decided to taunt Rachel.

"Awww… is the little girl hurt?"

"Little? How old are _you_?"

"That doesn't ma— OW!" Rachel had distracted Mimi long enough to hit her three times before Mimi ran to the other side of the room.

"Who's little now?" Rachel yelled.

"You're about to be! That is… little pieces of stupid confetti!"

"You used that phrase in, like, Chapter 2! GET NEW MATERIAL!"

"Then let me show you _this_ move." Mimi put some of her legs up on the ceiling in a straight line and repositioned the ones on the ground in a straight line. Four rubees popped out from each side of her head, which started spinning like a buzz saw.

"WHAT NOW!" Mimi screeched.

Rachel panicked. She hid under her parasol and waited until Mimi was done. Rachel was gripping the parasol so hard, more of the paint on the handle was peeling or was loosened. She was holding on to that thing for dear life.

Mimi finished and Rachel prepared her attack. She executed it perfectly and repeated for two more times.

"Feeling tired yet?" Rachel asked.

"We're only getting started!" Mimi shouted.

She then started pacing about. Apparently, it was some sort of dance to summon a wave of rubees from the floor. Rachel was totally unprepared for it, so she suffered some damage.

"How'd you like them apples?" She teased as Rachel lunged up and hit her.

"You shouldn't comment between attacks! It only weakens your guard!" Rachel said as she hit her two additional times.

"Get off me!" Mimi said as she ran away on her one remaining leg.

"Kinda hard to run with only one leg… Now hold still!"

Mimi realized that nothing else would work. She was done for, end of story. As Rachel came soaring down, she realized something: Rachel wasn't half-bad.

"Ow!" Mimi cried as she bounced on the floor. When she was finished bouncing, she asked, "How could I get beaten by you?"

"It happens…" Tippi said for Rachel. Mimi transformed back into herself and fell to her hands and knees shivering.

"Oh, what's the matter? Did little old me spank high and mighty you too hard?"

"Rachel I think that's enough… We've got to regroup with—" Tippi started. An eruption interrupted her. She continued off track with, "The destruction is spreading… if we dawdle any longer, we're doomed!"

"You're right, Tipps. Let's go." Rachel started walking off, but had an afterthought; Tippi was already out the door with Boomer

"Mimi… it pains me to say this, but you need to get somewhere safe. You can't stay here."

"Yeah, right… like you care…" The rumbling intensified so much that both started screaming at the top of their lungs.

"AHHHHH!"

**~*-THUD!-*~**

Safe outside the door, Phred, Ieda, and Tippi were walking over to the end of the room, unaware that Rachel was not behind them, when there was a loud noise.

"What was that?" Tippi asked looking back at the door.

"Wait, where's Rachel?" Phred asked as he noticed she was not there, panicked. Ieda walked over to the door, like last time, and jiggled the handle to no avail.

"It won't open!" She said.

"Oh no!" Tippi cried.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Hmmmmppppph!" Groaned Rachel as she was holding on to the ledge of the fallen out floor while holding her parasol in that hand; Mimi was dangling by her leg in the other.

"You idiot! What're you DOING?" asked Mimi.

"You ungrateful… I just saved your life! And I'm slipping!"

"I don't want help! Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Because everyone deserves a second chance! Especially you."

"Rach…" Mimi whispered.

"I can't hold much longer…!"

And was Rachel right. At that moment, another tremor shook the room, forcing Rachel to slip.

"EEEEEEEK!"

"RAAAAAY!"

Rachel lost her grip on the parasol as well. As it fell, chips of paint peeled off, nearly revealing the entire mystery of the white D. It opened up soon, and fell gently down to the bottomless abyss.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Rachel!" Phred cried as the shaking subsided.

"The entire castle shook and now that door won't open… what kind of a castle is this?"

"A lethal one. C'mon… I can't mourn for her like you couldn't Ray… We need to go."

"Yeah. First Ray, now Rach… who next? Me?"

"Don't talk like that, Ieda. You're fine." Phred assured.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**First Ray and then the  
fair Rachel were both lost  
to the halls of Castle Bleck.**

**Would they ever be seen again?**

**Without his allies, could our  
Hero Phred hope to stand  
against the evil Count Bleck?**

**The very air in the castle  
grew heavier and even more  
ominous with every step.**

**All they could do was plod  
forward in silence…**

**~*-SPP-*~**

_**A Few Minutes Later In A Room Of Mirrors…**_

"Oh… I forgot to mention this… The feel the power of The Void is growing… We're getting closer to the Chaos Heart…" Phred sighed and stood there silently.

"What's with all the mirrors?" Ieda asked.

"I don— WATCH OUT!" Tippi yelled as starbursts approached the remaining team. They evaded most of them, but fell victim to some.

"There's only one person we know that can do that! He must be the next opponent."

"God only knows what he'll do…" Tippi said.

"Who?" Ieda asked.

"You'll see. Now… maybe there's a mirror that isn't. Let's get to the middle safely and check there."

Sure enough, Phred was right. And to the far side of the back room was a chest with a key.

"Well, we got what we came for, so let's go."

_**Later, In A Similar Room Filled With Dimentio Clones…**_

"God… I never thought I'd see so many copies of this devil!"

"Hey, Tippi, I understand how you can hate him," said Phred as he bashed clones out of the way to get to the end of the room, "but you go beyond that into loathing. How come?"

"I don't think now is the best time… I hope I can tell soon. Maybe after all this is over…" She answered.

"I don't get it. Who _is_ this guy?" Ieda asked.

"I'll tell you when we're back out in the mirror room." Phred promised.

He reached the end of the room where he found the last key and found an item instead. Sighing, Phred walked over to the other side and claimed the key.

They headed back to the hole in the wall and jumped over gaps to get to the door. Phred saved and Tippi reminded him that they needed to tell Ieda something.

"Wha-?"

"Don't we need to tell Ieda something before we actually find him?"

"Oh, right. Uh, Ieda… that guy we saw in both mirror rooms was an evil jester named—"

"Dimentio…" Tippi finished for Phred.

"…Yeah, and he's pretty much—"

"Ray's obsession…"

"Do you want to tell her?" Phred asked, annoyed that Tippi had interrupted him twice.

"Oh… um, sorry. No… Go ahead…"

"Thank you. H—"

"His motives are unclear, and he seems to laugh in the face of pain…"

Phred shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the wall.

"Uh, lessee… He has his own dimension, can teleport, use magic, and… I think that's it."

"Huh. Okay." was all Ieda responded with. There was a moment's silence.

"Well," said Phred, standing up, "if we haven't wasted enough time already, we need to get deeper in this faulty castle. Shall we?"


	57. Countdown to Destruction

**For those of you wondering where I was for the past three days, seek out my profile and look for 9/27's update.**

* * *

World 8-3 (Part 2): Countdown to Destruction

"Aha ha ha ha ha ha ha. So… You've made it here at last." Dimentio said as the three remaining members walked through the door and approached the maniacal jester.

"Oh, but… what's this? You seem to be missing my best friend and that other girl."

"Don't remind me." Phred said to him.

"Dimentio… We don't have time to trade barbs with you… Move out of the way!" Spat Tippi.

"Ahhh, I see. You're in a hurry. Allow me to get out of your way then…" He snapped his fingers and left.

That surely shocked Phred as well as Tippi. Ieda just stood there wondering what was happening. A short silence filled the room, but was soon disrupted.

"…Just as soon as you defeat me! Aha ha ha ha ha."

"I knew there was a catch." Phred said aloud.

"You've proven to be worthy foes in the past, so I'm not going to make it easy. You'll have to come get me first. It'll be like a game of tag…with _magic!~_" His voice echoed through the room until it fell silent.

"Now how are we gonna find him?" Phred asked Tippi.

"Uh…" She thought to Phred.

"Hey, guys, what's with this weird lightning bolt on the wall? It's kinda sparkly." Ieda noted.

"What?" Phred walked over to where Ieda was pointing. Then he remembered about Fleep.

"That's it! We've gotta use Fleep!"

At the sound of his name, the Italian Pixl floated over the dimensional rift and flipped it over. Suddenly, a block appeared.

"Well… I guess we see what happens… Let's go get Dimentio!" Tippi said. Phred struck the box and they were all teleported in the style of Dimentio.

**~*-Lineland Road-*~**

After a few seconds of delay, the three of them apparated onto the grass path that was Lineland Road. Their expression could only be described as confusion.

"…How'd we get here?" Tippi asked.

"First of all, where are we?"

"This is Lineland. Lineland Road to be exact. This is where I first went in this adventure." Phred said.

"Look over there!" Tippi said. Phred had just enough time to see Dimentio floating to the right, away from the Heroes.

"Well what're we waiting for? Let's nab him!"

And so the chase began. They ran after Dimentio and also avoided the enemies; they were only a hindrance at this point.

Yards into the chase and they noticed how much the Void had grown since the beginning.

"Wow, you can really see The Void here!" Ieda noticed.

"It wasn't always there… In fact, it wasn't even there when we first went through here…" Tippi recalled.

"Doesn't matter. We've gotta keep going." Phred said.

They ran along ahead and defeated the enemies anyway. They also found some Mushrooms, and one of them leveled the party up by one attack point.

"Yay!" was cheered until they found the next Fleep marker next to a locked door.

**~*-First National Bank of Mimi-*~**

"This is Merlee's Mansion!" Tippi exclaimed.

"Merlee's the woman that the green girl impersonated, right?" Ieda asked.

"Yep."

"I'm certainly glad I'm catching on now." Breathed she with her eyes closed and smiling.

"There goes Dimentio!" Shouted Tippi. There he was floating up and away from them again.

"I guess we must chase him…" she continued.

"Let's go!" Phred said.

Everyone followed Phred, as he was the only one who knew this part of the house. He ended up leading them to the top of the house where there were pink energy beams protecting the way to proceed on the crazy chase, as he described, the vault.

He remembered he needed Slim for this part, so he summoned the skinny Pixl and the crew carefully made their way to the vault.

Another Fleep marker was there.

**~*-The Tile Pool-*~**

**~*-Planet Blobule-*~**

**~*-Gap of Crag-*~**

**~*-The Ended World-*~**

**~*-Underwhere Road-*~**

**~*-Castle Bleck Interior-*~**

They appeared back in the room where the entire chase started. Dimentio stood in the middle of the room as if he had been waiting for them since he first left. Phred and Ieda took stances of both defensive and offensive.

"Enjoying my game of tag?" he asked in a sinister voice. Ieda approached him, followed by Phred.

"Hey! Stop messing around and fight us for real!" She shouted.

"Messing around? Oh, no. Magic is no laughing matter. I am _always_ deadly serious."

Silence.

"You know, I have been watching you. You are the only ones who can stand up to Count Bleck."

"Wait, you've been stalking us?" Phred asked.

"Not stalking, but… er, observing per se. You all are very strong, but Phred… you must be the strongest! Along with the help of the butterfly, of course."

"Of course…" Tippi said coolly turning away from him.

"So I have a favour to ask. Will you help me…destroy the count?"

"Pardon?" Phred asked trying to figure out what Dimentio had just said. It sounded like He wanted to betray Bleck, but Phred wanted to be sure.

"YOU want to betray BLECK?" Tippi inquired. "You _must_ be crazy…"

"Betray? Ah ha ha ha. Oh, no. It is Count Bleck who has betrayed ME!" Dimentio countered.

"I don't follow." Ieda said. Honestly, none of them did either.

"Well, he said he would destroy all worlds and create a new, perfect world in their place. _**But he was lying!**_"

"How?"

"If you let me continue, I will gladly tell you."

"…then go ahead…"

"He plans to obliterate every world, and then KEEP the all in ruin."

"That's kind of what we thought he was doing this entire trip." Phred said.

"Shush, shush, shush! I never realized how much I need your sad friend; it's hard for you to keep quiet! Ahem, anyway, I have always known about his nefarious goal, but I could never hope to stop him on my own."

"So you sought out the Heroes' help by…?" Tippi started, losing her train of thought.

"That comes in later… I feigned loyalty to him as I searched for someone who could defeat him _with_ me!"

"So you were always a turncoat." Ieda shouted.

"Not totally, but essentially yes, for that's why I rescued a certain girlfriend from brainwashing."

"**YOU** SENT RACHEL TO US?" Phred yelled.

"But of course! I was only trying to help. Speaking of help, I also _helped_ you when I send every single Hero to the Underwhere to fix the Stone Heart… and why I freed a girl to be with her friends again…"

"Ieda!" Tippi figured, turning to said girl. Phred looked too.

"So… you were behind why I found Ieda in He- er, the Underwhere?"

"Yes! It says in the LP I believe that four Heroes are needed; not three and a villain."

"But… why have you been helping us?" Tippi asked.

"That shall go unnamed until later!" He winked. "Now, how about you return the favour?"

"Never." Phred breathed.

"Aha ha ha. Surely you jest. I can give you the power you need to crush Bleck! Just fight by my side…"

"No." he said.

"Still you refuse? But _this_ offer, it drips with generosity! With the Chaos Heart in our hands, we can rule every world! Do you still refuse?"

"Forget it!" Phred barked.

"No way!" Ieda copied.

"So you spit upon my offer? You have wasted my time. For that, your game ends here."

"I'll take you first." Ieda declared. Phred turned and stared at Ieda.

"…You positive?"

"Phred, you're the one that has to defeat Bleck! Just leave me and get to Bleck… I'm probably going to fall victim to the castle anyway."

"Alright… but do you need Tippi?"

"Nah, she can go with you too."

Phred nodded and turned to exit through the next door. Tippi followed and whispered, "Good luck, Ieda."

When the door closed, Dimentio let out his jokes at full capacity.

"Ah ha ha ha. How tender. I just squeezed out a tear! Yes… Phred can just run along. And if he manages to defeat the bad count alone, all the better!"

"How?"

"That'll prove he _is_ strong enough… _AND SO I STRIKE, LIKE AN UNFORSEEN DODGEBALL IN AN ECHOING GYMNASIUM!_"

Ieda shrank down to the floor and zoomed into Dimentio from underneath. It did major damage.

"Ah! Okay… maybe that metaphor applies to you." He said as he disappeared. He reappeared near the floor and disappeared.

"You're worse than that Francis guy!"

"Yes… I _am_ worse, for he cannot duplicate!" Just then, he appeared with two other copies.

"Pierce _THIS_ illusion!" He shouted, taunting the Heroine.

She did.

"Ah! You hit hard, Mademoiselle I."

"Who the hell is that?"

"You don't remember? Pity."

He disappeared again and found himself on the other side of the room. She saw and just missed him before he flipped into 3-D.

"I thought Phred was the only one able to do that!"

"He may have the gift, but I have the mastery!" He said, shooting a starburst. Ieda barely missed it.

Dimentio came back into view and Ieda wasted no time in attacking. He disappeared again and reappeared with only one other clone this time.

She kept aiming at the wrong Dimentio, but eventually found the right one.

"Grrr… You are tougher than when you were with us."

"I was never with you!" Ieda said, ramming into the ceiling, then floating down onto Dimentio's head conveniently.

"I guess that's the backfire of losing your identity… you also lose your memory." He said disappearing once again.

"Think woman! How do you think I _could_ have sent you to the Underwhere?"

"With your magic stuff!"

"That's only the half of it— OW!"

Ieda had caught the clown off guard and he flailed his arms in the air and flitted off.

He happened to reappear ON Ieda, damaging her this time.

"Ah! That hurt!"

"Payback is oh, so sweet…"

Ieda lunged up and said, "Like what I'm about to do to you!" She landed on his head, and leveled up five HP.

"Whoo! I like this feeling!" She cheered.

"NOOOOO!" Dimentio cried, waiving his arms and legs in midair before teleporting to the middle of the room where he held his head while rocking back and forth.

"I… I cry uncle! Mercy! UNCLE, I SAY!"

"Good! Now tell me what you mean by what you said earlier, 'when I was with you.'"

"Okay! Okay… but I must comment on your formidable prowess." He stopped shaking and stood floating in the air normally.

"Uh, thanks?" she said, tilting her head.

"And that is a reason why I can't let you fall into Count Bleck's velvet-lined gloves…"

"Wha-?" Ieda asked, jumping scared stiff.

Dimentio floated down to the ground next to Ieda and conjured up a box similar to the ones he used to blow people up. Only this time, instead of just the Hero on the inside of the box, Dimentio stood inside with Ieda.

"Hey… what're you doing?"

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha! I have you now! Ieda! The LP may say four Heroes, but the DP says that the 'ebony-skinned one' has the power to alter which Prognosticus is incorrect and which shall prevail!"

Ieda, realizing she was the only black in the game, started sweating. She asked, "What do you plan to do with me?"

"We will both taste the agony of game-overing…by magic!" He said.

"No!"

Ieda fell to the floor out of fright as Dimentio readied his snapping fingers.

"Ciao." He snapped. The box filled with explosions and fires.

"NOOOOOOOoooooooooo!"

**~*SPP-*~**

The room adjacent to the battle started rocking violently.

"Ieda!" Phred cried. The room stopped suddenly and Phred rushed over to the door. He knew it would be locked, but he had to give it a try anyway.

"No good."

'No… It can't be…" Tippi mourned.

"Tippi, you're probably going to think me horrible for this, but—"

"—we have to mourn for her later. I know." She finished for him.

"You probably know what I'm going to say next."

"We have to stop the count?"

"Yep. C'mon. I see the Star Block over there."

"The last one… I can't believe our journey ended so quickly."

"Yeah… Hey Emiloy," Phred said, breaking the fourth wall of the television, "what time is it?"

She answered 11:00.

"We've got just an hour left! We have to hurry now!"

"Hit the block!"

Phred did and they were whisked away to Count Bleck's Inner Sanctum rooms away from the final battle.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Nastasia had seen the entire battle take place. She had always known of some sort of suspicion about Dimentio, but never really cared enough to prove it. But this was proof enough. Dimentio's sinister plot revealed in front of the invisible Nastasia, and she realized what he was up to.

"Dimentio… He plans on taking over the Chaos Heart with the prophesized Wild Card? Yeah, um, I can't allow that. I gotta go warn the count about this!"

Nastasia flipped out and raced to get to the count to warn him of Dimentio's nefarious plan.

…See? Dimentio's not the only one to eavesdrop!

**~*-SPP-*~**

**A frigid wind blew through  
the dim and drafty corridors  
of Castle Bleck.**

**Ray, Rachel…and even  
brave Ieda were gone. Phred  
was the only Hero left.**

**It was up to Phred to stop  
the dark prophecy. Every  
world hung in the balance.**

**What thrilling conclusion  
awaited our Hero?**

**Phred ran to the count's  
inner sanctum, his hair  
blowing in the wind…**

**With a single hour left,  
would our Hero have the  
time to conquer?**

**Hopefully…**

**

* * *

Fact of trivia: every time I play this part of the game, Dimmy never offers me a bottle of Dimented perfume. :P**


	58. Tippi and the Count

World 8-4: Tippi and the Count

"So. It's just us left now, isn't it?" Tippi asked rhetorically. "It reminds me of the time we first met…"

"That wasn't particularly a pleasant thing, Tipps." When she didn't say anything, he turned to face her and asked what was wrong.

"I'm sorry Phred… It's just that I promised you that I would help find your friends and now all of them are gone forever…"

"Tippi, you can't say that! If there's one thing that you pounded into my brain is that we can't give up hope. They're still alive."

"But… how do you really know? For all we know, they could have ended up smashed to a pulp or stabbed by a spiky pit of doom or worse… trapped in a box with Dimentio…"

"Tippi, relax. They're alive and well, I can _feel_ it."

"Well, maybe you are right and they only fell through and landed on O'Chunks… After all, they _are_ Heroes of Prophecy…"

"That's the spirit!"

"I'm going to believe in them…" she declared.

_And I'm going to believe in _HIM_ most of all…_

**~*-SPP-*~**

At long last, the stairs to the antechamber of the villainous and heartbroken Count Blumiere Bleck lay before Phred Katzer and Tippi… I don't actually know her last name. The point is that they were almost to Count Bleck.

"So here we are… at long last…" Tippi finally said, breaking their long silence.

"Yep. And a whole half hour to spare no thanks to that maze back there. Just goes to show that Nintendo really wanted to get people to think three dimensionally like Portal wanted its players to think with portals."

"What's that?" Tippi asked. If she had a human head, she would have cocked it to one side.

"Oh, it's just a game that ruined my liking for cake."

Tippi just made an 'ah' sound and they both fell silent again.

"Well," started Phred, "shall we?"

"Sure…" Tippi sounded uneasy, but floated alongside Phred anyway.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they found a Mystery Block. Phred struck it to see what was inside and out popped an Ultra Shroom. The only reason he used it was to gain the experience points; he thought he was on the verge of leveling up again. He didn't, so needless to say that both were sorely disappointed.

Phred continued on to the door… but Tippi didn't follow. She just hovered in air under the now useless block and stared off into the distance (at least that's what Phred thought she was doing).

Phred noticed and turned around to ask, "Tippi, you gonna be okay?"

She said nothing. She kept on hovering and staring. Then, "Phred, I have a confession to make."

"Okay, what is it?"

"It's… difficult to explain, Phred. I don't actually know where to begin."

"Try from the beginning," he half joked.

"Alright…" she took a short pause. The air around them grew still and chilly. Finally, after an awkward minute, she blurted out, "Oh, I just can't bring myself say it out loud!"

"Tippi. You can trust me with anything. Believe me, I won't fly off the handle if it's something like you love Count Bleck. Yeah, it's totally crazy and all because he's destroying the worlds – mine included – because he can't find you, but it's love and I can't interfere with that. I wouldn't want you ending up like Romeo and Juliet."

Tippi: …

"Tippi? Did I just guess almost everything you wanted to say?"

"You just hit my confession and feelings on the nail…"

"Oh… by the way, I think the phrase is 'on the nose'."

"What difference does it make? You got it exact."

Silence again.

"Well, if it really matters to you, I can try and negotiate with him so I don't have to hurt him in front of you."

"Thank you, Phred, but that won't do any good. I know Blumiere and he's not a big negotiator."

"Tippi, I've been wondering… how _do_ you know him?"

Tippi froze. "Phred, I don't think this is the appropriate time to talk about this!"

"Okay fine, but answer me this: did he love you back?"

This question set Tippi flying off the handle, that's how silly it was. "Of course he did! Why do you think he picked up the DP in the first place?"

"Wait, so you knew his motive the whole time starting from our argument in Bowser's Castle?"

"I had no idea at the time! Phred, can we please just go in and finish this?"

"Tipps, you said yourself that it won't end until he's dead."

"WHEN DID I EVER SAY THAT?"

"Well, you implied it earlier…"

"Fine, Phred. I'll tell you how we met and then you can see for yourself if he would die for me or not! Now…"

_**Four Minutes Later…**_

"Oh, my God. Tipps, I had… I'm so sorry." Phred whispered as his eyes filled with tears.

"I am too…"

"Tippi, I want you to stay outside while I take care of him. For your own good."

She thought about it and then declared, "No. No, I'm going in with you and that's final. He needs to see me…"

"Alright, but brace yourself."

The two walked through the door together side-by-side. This was it… After 58 chronicled sections of his adventure, it was finally time to meet Count Bleck face-to-face for the Final Battle.

* * *

**Am I going to be cruel and make you wait another week for the next chapter? Yes, yes I am.**

**Actually, you guys are lucky you get this one because this is Homecoming Weekend for me and I gots maiself a lucky gal to take to the dance.**


	59. Not Quite the Final Battle

**Before this chapter starts, I wanted to give a shout-out to SPMX: an excellent story that's beginning when this one is ending. *irony!***

**And yesterday, I learned the right hand to "Flipside"**** on the piano**** while waiting for my dad to pick me up from school. :P  
**

* * *

Chapter 59: Not Quite the Final Battle...

"Tippi?" Phred asked as the door closed behind them. "What's the matter?"

"I feel… I feel something very, very powerful… it's the Chaos Heart!"

"_Bleh heh heh heh heh…_" cackled the count's voice. Tippi and Phred looked around as it echoed through the large, color decorated black room and found him perched up top with Nastasia to his left.

"Bleck!" Phred yelled.

"I see you've come at last! So you truly are the Hero from the Light Prognosticus."

The two moved forward with the gang of Pixls following somewhat behind.

"Stop right there! You're far too late to stop the Dark Prognosticus and me…Count Bleck. Every single world will soon see its end. Come to grips with that now, for you cannot stop it. I suggest you make yourself comfortable and enjoy this one, final spectacle!"

"Just double checking," Tippi started, "but why? And do you honestly want to destroy all worlds?"

"Tipps, you said he wasn't a good negotiator."

"I know Phred, but I'm not negotiating. I'm digging for truth instead of whim."

"Count Bleck does not care for any of the worlds. They are meaningless!" …_without her…_ "Better that I destroy them and better yet, I shall make it as if they never existed at all!"

"In that case, if the worlds have no meaning, was our meeting meaningless as well? …_Answer me… BLUMIERE!_"

"You know the answer, dear Timpani. Count Bleck should not have to remind you." He started to smile, saying, "But the hour has grown too late. You should know that by now."

"Blumiere- no, Count Bleck… The only way to stop all this is to defeat you… and that's why Phred has come. To stop this insanity!"

The count just cackled again. "Very well! But I shall also so what I must! Count Bleck is the deleter of worlds; my fate is written in the Dark Prognosticus! Do not hesitate for a moment and think that I will not strike you down too."

"BLUMIERE!"

"Hey, Count! That isn't very gentleman-like _or_ lover-like!"

"Still your mouth! **ALL ENDS NOW!**"

Nothing happened.

"Nastasia," the count finally said, "leave me. I shall deal with these two _alone_."

At that, she only gasped and stuttered, "B-But I still need to tell you some-"

"COUNT BLECK DEMANDS IT!" he yelled as he turned to gaze at her menacingly. "I will not say it again."

Hanging her head, she unwillingly agreed and flipped out of sight. The count turned back to Phred and Timpani and asked: "Are you prepared, Hero?"

"Pretty sure I am. Anymore of your monologues to get out before?"

"Our duel will be worthy of the last clash the world will ever see!"

"I guess that's a yes then." Phred answered for himself.

"Um, no. Now I'm done." The count stated as he dove to harm Phred.

"Careful!" Tippi yelled. To whom, I don't know.

Phred dodged in the nick of time and escaped a mini-Void the count had conjured with his scepter. Phred went in to jump on the count, but some sort of box guarded the count. That's when another mini-Void was summoned and sucked Phred right in. He would have landed on the count's head had the force field not been there.

The count moved to the highest part of the centre of the room with Phred on his tail. He then spoke out, "How laughable! Is that all the heroism you can muster? Let me show you true power!"

"Our attacks… Phred, you've probably figured this out already, but our attacks aren't doing anything! It's the Chaos Heart that's shielding him…"

"I know, Tipps- AAAH!" he screamed as the count shot out another mini-Void. Phred missed it and went in for one more pitiable attempt. The box appeared again and sent Phred to the ground floor while the count flipped higher.

"You can't so much as tug on the cape of Count Bleck! YOU HAVE FAILED," he taunted.

"There's gotta be some weakness," mused Phred.

"I expected more potency from the Hero of Prophecy! Bleck!" The esteemed count raised his hands and opened his cloak, laughing and saying, "I well watch your game end. Then your precious worlds!"

A bigger mini-Void formed inside the room. Phred expected it to be for him and for Tippi. The Pixls and anything that represented anything good.

"Is this…the end?" Tippi asked desperately.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Whew… it took us quite a while, but we got here! We all here?" Rachel asked in front of the door leading to Count Bleck's room.

"Yes, I'm wholly here." Ieda said.

"I think I am, thanks very much." Ray groaned, hands on his back.

"Good! Now let's go give that count a lesson!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Is this…the end?" Tippi asked desperately.

The door burst open, slamming against the walls. They all turned to see who it was and sure enough, Ray, Rachel, and Ieda stood in the doorway. Ray, with wide eyes, was the first to speak.

"Oh, please don't tell me you're giving up already. Not after all _we've_ been through!" He waved his finger around pointing to Rachel, Ieda, and himself.

"Phred, it's…" Tippi couldn't finish her sentence; tears started flowing down.

The three other Heroes approached Phred and Tippi as if nothing had happened to them. They didn't even show any signs of physical damage caused by the castle!

The mini-Void closed up and Count Bleck stared in disbelief. "So you _are_ alive…"

"We'd NEVER let you destroy everything dear to our hearts you… you big bully!" Rachel yelled, then realized, "Wow, I have to get better at my name calling."

"You tell 'em Rach!" Ieda cheered.

"If I may ask," the count piped in, "but how did you survive?"

"Me and O'Chunks fell through the floor before I had another chance at death…"

"Mimi and I fell and landed on our friends. Ray's actually a soft landing, surprisingly."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Me… I don't even know what happened." Ieda interrupted. "Everyone just found me out cold."

"What difference does it make? You're all here now!" Tippi exclaimed.

All: LET'S DO THIS!

"Bleh heh heh heh ho no… 'When the four Heroes are united…' Oh no! It is all as foretold." Started the count.

Flashes of light came from nowhere. This got everyone's attention.

"What… What's this, demanded Count Bleck?" He stared at the four Heroes… who were now glowing.

"What's happening to Bleck?" Rachel wondered out loud. They were all distracted, for all eight Pure Hearts popped up and made a circle around him and his box in midair.

"The Pure Hearts!" Tippi proclaimed. They rose up and surrounded Count Bleck and his box of security. There were more intense flashes, and then the box shattered. After that, the Pure Hearts vanished in thin air.

Everyone in the room: …?

"Bleh heh heh heh…huh? My barrier… it's gone!"

"'Four Heroes unite, their hope burns forth light to shatter the walls of blight.'" Tippi quoted from way earlier.

"Ohmigod! It's like Merlee said back at the mansion, Phred!" Rachel gasped. Phred could only nod, smile, and stare as he knew what was about to happen. He looked back up at the count and declared that this would end now.

"So be it…says Count Bleck! Just don't celebrate yet. Your precious worlds are not safe until my last, dying breath." He raised his hands again and declared that the true battle was now under way… with Count Bleck.


	60. The Final Battle?

Chapter 60: The Final Battle?

"Let us finally end this! Now the true battle begins… with Count Bleck!" shouted the count as he flipped out and down to the Heroes' level.

"You guys know the drill?" asked Phred, hoping for a yes.

"Knock him out senseless?" Ray asked.

"You got it."

"Phred!" Tippi argued.

"Well, not completely senseless, Ray." Phred corrected. Tippi smiled.

"I call first hit!" Rachel cried. The count had other plans than to see him get beat by a girl; he summoned a mini-Void. Rachel accidentally ran right into it, not knowing, and cost the team 8 HP. Wow!

"Ow! Sorry guys…"

"Lemme at him!" Ray shouted, getting a running start before jumping up and lunging at the count.

The count just yawned and slowed up time for everyone, including himself, and stepped out of harm's way. This left Ray to crash right into the wall.

"OW! Thanks for nothing, author." he protested.

"I wanna give it a shot." Ieda decided. Phred let her and she actually hit him good… but here, good was bad because he summoned a larger-Void. One that Ieda actually defied gravity against while walking away from it in midair.

"How are you doing that? !" Tippi asked intrigued.

"I dunno!"

The larger-Void finally disapated and everyone was ready to attack again. Rachel went in to land a blow again and actually hit him right before he slowed things down again. Luckily he didn't make another larger-Void, but it was hard finding him again. She hit him for another 9 HP right as things sped up normally.

"Grrr, you Heroes are more than I expected, muttered Count Bleck- GACK! Stop hitting me, woman!"

"I would say sorry, but you're kinda killing everything, so I'm not going to." Rachel said.

Meanwhile, Phred was over with Ray in the far left corner of the room trying to figure out if he could get a clear shot of the count for massive damage.

"It's worth a shot… hold on," he decided. He took aim very carefully before going out and striking from far away.

Right as he threw some knives, the count made it slow-mo again. He was still confident that they'd still hit the count.

But then Rachel got in the way.

"Rachel! Watch out!" Ray and Phred both called out to her... in slow motion, of course.

"What- EEK!" The knives Ray had thrown caught onto Rachel's clothing. The normal tempo picked up again and she flew back at full speed, knives carrying her all the way to the wall closest to the door. The knives stuck in the wall and she was immobilized.

"Rachel!" Ray cried.

"RAY I'M GONNA KILL YOU! Get me down from here now!" she screamed as she kicked and flailed, trying to break free.

"I always said she'd be the death of you." Phred said to Ray. He then said this to Rachel: "Rachel, just stay there, we'll take care of this!"

Rachel: Hmph!

Ieda made a run for the count with Dashell and bounced off his large top hat.

"You deal blows as well as the other girl. My compliments, Mademoiselle, congratulated Count Bleck."

"Why does everyone keep calling me that? !"

"Less talky, more fighty!" Phred urged as he ran away from a larger-Void in slow-mo.

She listened to him and dealt another 9 damage, closing up that Void. Phred thanked her.

Ray was trying to get another clear shot of the count again. He waited for him to turn everything slow again before he threw his knives. The count didn't, so Ray fired at will. Some actually hit the count, costing him a whopping 18 per hit! Ray beamed with self-satisfaction as the count appeared next to him and bonked his head with the cane.

"AYIE! That shouldn't even count as damage! You can't do that!" Ray accused while rubbing his head.

"Ray, leave it…" Tippi suggested.

Phred went in for his first hit on the count, but ended up being dashed into. Phred didn't take that at all and tried to get the count for it. He almost missed, but didn't so the count lost another 9.

At this stage, the count already looked ready to fall over. Tippi silently prayed to Grambi that he would be spared, but she knew it would never happen; from the corner of her eye, she saw Phred deal the last blow and the Chaos Heart started to react.

"**BLEHHHH!**" screamed Count Bleck, shivering because of all the damage he took. There were a few more flashes, like the ones earlier, but instead of the Chaos Heart disappearing, Count Bleck did.

"Blumiere!" Tippi cried.

The Chaos Heart floated up, then down to the floor. Cautiously, Tippi led her friends (except Rachel) over as Count Bleck reappeared, battered, beaten, and dirty on the floor. His monocle was cracked, cloak torn here and there, even his mouth and visible eye… they were blue instead of the usual red.

"Eh… Excellent…" He barely had the energy to get that out.

Just in time, Nastasia flipped in and realized what happened in a heartbeat.

"Umm… Count?" She secretly cried on the inside, _No! This can't be happening!_

"You have won. Now finish Count Bleck… Dispatch me and the Chaos Heart will disappear! The Prophecy will be undone…"

"Oh, Blumiere," whispered Tippi as she floated over, "why must it end this way?"

"Timpani…" he continued, "When you vanished, I searched long and hard for you. Never did I give up… I searched and searched… but I never found you. Without you, my love, the world held no meaning or joy. That's why I used the forbidden prophecy of the Tribe of Ancients to end all worlds."

"I see… you wanted to destroy everything that had taken me away from you… But I'm here now! No one can keep us apart anymore… don't you see?"

"No, do you not see that it's too late? Count Bleck… has done much evil. It must end… Just knowing that you are still alive and knowing that the world you still live in will continue… It gives me peace of mind."

"Tipps, he doesn't have long to live... We gotta end him before The Void destroys everything." Phred reminded.

"NO! We're finally together again! I won't leave you, Blumiere! I won't, I won't, I won't!"

"Tippi, please." Rachel asked softly, but loud enough to be heard.

A drop of water - what looked like a tear - fell from where Tippi floated. She turned away and floated back to Phred, whispering, "I'm sorry Blumiere," all the way.

Suddenly, Nastasia turned around to look behind her while everyone stared at the count. She gasped and clutched the count with all her might.

"COUNT, LOOK OUT!" she yelled. The Heroes turned around right as a starburst flew down into the poor woman's back, protecting the count from harm. It hit her hard. Really hard. So hard, that it sent her collapsing to the ground, eyes closed, and glasses falling off.

She didn't even breath.


	61. Almost the Final Battle!

Chapter 61: Almost the Final Battle!

"Na-Nastasia!" the count managed to get out.

"Nassy!" yelped Rachel.

"Dimmy?" Ray asked staring past the battered count and the fallen Nastasia.

Indeed, Dimentio hovered not three yards away from the group and he had hit Nastasia instead of the count by mere miscalculation.

"Silly assistant!" he growled angrily, "Absorbing my attack to protect him? What an adorably hopeless gesture." He floated over to the Chaos Heart and continued his lament on poor aim. "I was about to give him the everlasting peace he so desperately wants and then you just grab hold and act as the savior! Well, I say NAY!"

"Dimentio? You're…alive?"

"Naturally! If all the Heroes are still breathing, then why shouldn't O'Chunks, or Mimi, or even I? Besides, this is my moment!~ Even if the count dies, the Chaos Heart won't disappear if I continue to control it. However, I needed the power of the Pure Hearts to beat him… I couldn't do that on my own."

"So you had us do all the work for you?"

"Yes, grand Hero, I made you do all the sweaty labour for me and I even had you use the Pure Hearts to defeat Count Bleck! If they make greeting cards to thank people for helping with evil plans, I owe you all one!"

"What do you mean?" Ieda asked.

"I'm saying that you no longer have value to me, so I'm ending your games." He smiled, cackling. "_They're all yours Mademoiselle!_"

He snapped his fingers. Out of nowhere, Ieda walked forward and froze.

"I, what're you doing?"

"If I knew Ray, I'd tell you." Then without warning, she started flapping her arms about.

"Uh…oh. AAAAAACK! Why am I flapping my arms? Oh, this… this can't be good!"

Dimentio snapped his fingers again and the same ball of energy from the Land of the Cragnons emitted from the top of her head. As it subsided, what appeared shocked everyone.

"NOT A FLORO SPROUT!" Ray cried, going to his knees.

"I AM MLLE I!" she reported, talking like a robot. "Master Dimentio… What is your bidding?" It was clear she had lost control of her own mind.

"When the hell did _this_ happen?" Rachel angrily asked scowling from her wall.

"Well, when you found Ieda unconscious at the bottom of the castle, I planted a little seed in the fertile soil of her mind before you did find her. Now that seed has sprouted spectacularly!"

"No…" Tippi moaned.

Dimentio summoned the Chaos Heart up higher in the air without touching it and held his hands up.

"Mademoiselle," he said, "run along now and get ready for your big entrance!" Without a word, she walked away. "Now ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the greatest magic show you'll ever see!"

He thrust the Chaos Heart into the air and as if floated down, it sucked in Ieda. For a few seconds, everyone thought that she had perished.

But a few seconds is relatively short.

All at once, a giant collar and Dimentio-dress appeared in front of them along with moving blocks with faces. Soon, the dress sprouted feet and then a head that resembled Ieda's.

"**BLUUUUUUE!**" shouted the creature.

"IEDA!" Ray cried through his tears.

"The DP suggests she's the ideal host for the power of the Chaos Heart."

"You said back in the other room 'four Heroes and not three Heroes and a villain!'"

"That was to defeat Bleck, you simpleton."

"What do you plan to do with Ieda?" Rachel asked concerned.

"I plan to add my own power to this spicy little concoction! That's what I plan to do, you ungrateful little SoCal girl!"

"Stop, commanded Count Bleck!"

Dimentio looked down for only a second before he sent the count, Tippi, and Nastasia away without a second thought.

"Count Bleck! You looked so tattered and pathetic, I nearly forgot about you… I'll squeeze the life out of you later. Just wait over in that dimension, 'K? Great," he purposely mocked Nastasia.

"And now for YOU!" He pointed to Ray, who had wiped his tears away and stood up.

"Me?" Ray questioned. Before Dimentio even took a breath, he snapped his fingers. Ray started mumbling gibberish, eyelids drooping, and he fell to the floor. Dimentio snapped again and he was whisked away to wherever the count, Nastasia, and Tippi were sent.

"RAY! What did you do with him, you vicious clown?" Rachel wailed.

"Don't worry, he's safe and sound. Just taking a nap with the count and his lovers."

"Where is he and why'd you take him away?"

"Hush your mouth… it's as loud and incessant as a motorboat on a bayou. I had a small moment to steal a peek at the dark tome – he was busy taunting you in the near-ended world – and I found a peculiar passage that I suspected not even the count had found! It said that if- excuse me, _when_ the prophecy is fulfilled, the emotionally scarred one is the perfect successor to the original owner of the Chaos Heart when he dies."

"But Ieda—"

"She's the perfect one to channel the power of it; he's the perfect one to _use_ it after I go."

"Then why did you send him to the Underwhere with us?"

"Oh, my naïve, tanned, and blond Hero… I sent him along with you to keep suspicion away from me! It was already obvious that I had a certain liking towards Mademoiselle I, and if wind caught that I had another little obsession, then that would be the end of me and my nefarious plan. And if dear old Count Bleck knew that not all the Heroes went under, that'd strike him as odd."

"And the business card?" Rachel dared to ask.

"_That_ was a genuine act of kindness. A sort of olive branch to all the Heroes… sadly it only reached him."

"Huh, guess he isn't totally heartless…" muttered Rachel.

"Now enough quibble about me! I have the Chaos Heart and with it I'll destroy everything and create perfect worlds to replace! Shall we get started, Phred? Now I have all I need…to become king of all worlds! AH HA HA~!"

"Phred, aim for the head! It's his most exposed part!" Rachel yelled to him.

"On it!"

Up he went on the moving boxes, waiting for the perfect time to jump. However, Dimentio had another plan up his collar. One of the boxes became a frown-y face and shot what looked like a ball from Pong.

"Watch out!" she yelled again. He got out of the way just in time and rode the box he was on all the way to the head.

Phred half expected the attack to do something, but then remembered he was battling a ridiculous monster constructed by a jester who had pulled out all the stops to prevent from getting hurt and preserve the destruction of the worlds.

The attack did nothing.

Phred fell to the floor much like he did when first confronting Bleck and waited for Dimentio's taunt.

"Ah ha ha ha. I am invincible! There is nothing you can do! Now it's time for the destruction to begin… Let it begin with you as you wallow in helplessness like upside-down turtles or your girlfriend on that wall."

"**HEY!**"

"I-POWER!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

Back on Flopside Tower, Nolrem and Merlon still stood next to the door. The Void was immense now, and all they could do was feel sorry for the worlds.

"The worlds tremble…" Merlon sighed.

"Has the end finally come? Already midnight?" Nolrem asked, the ground under his feet starting to shake and wobble.

"How…" started Merlon.

"…Unfortunate." Finished his counterpart.

A flash of light and the world started to go out of focus.

_**Meanwhile…**_

Watchitt stood outside his house as a small child walked right up to him and asked what was going on.

"Watch it and you'll find out." He answered tenderly.

A flash of light and the world was soon a goner. Even Watchitt's rug would die too.

_**At The Same Time…**_

Flint Cragley and his film crew stood on the platform in the Downtown of Crag and simply looked back and forth, scared that they'd die.

A flash of light and all that remained was the memory of the famous Cragtrotter and his crew.

_**Simultaneously…**_

The only camera in the Brekon's house was the one belonging to Anita Brigens' camera-guy. The entire world depended on that single broadcast and all it showed was the true, horrible reality that they were all about to die.

Pope Benedict XVI had asked the world for a huge favour earlier that day: pray for the survival of every world that the simple video game referred to that night. Most of the world, surprisingly, said yes and devoted an entire hour to prayer.

Flights were grounded, ships dry-docked, freeways and toll roads were in a constant state of gridlock both ways, and every supermarket was out of stock in all the necessities to living.

But who cared? The world was ending anyway.

_**Concurrently…**_

Tippi, Count Bleck, Nastasia, and Ray were all in Dimension D. Nastasia lay on top of Ray in a position that said that she was sleeping and not… you know. Blumiere was actually strong enough to stand on his own, so he stood with what little life he had left.

The star-crossed lovers stood on the side and were arguing about whether to do something or not.

"We have to do something! We have to save Phred and everyone else!" Tippi urged.

"We cannot. Without the Pure Hearts, there is no way to counter the Chaos Heart. The most we can do to help is give up…"

"_What are you SAYING? _You promised we would find happiness together! Was all that just a lie?"

The count shook his head no, saying, "It was no lie. However, without the Pure Hearts, all worlds are doomed. What can we do?"

Tippi had had enough. She flew over to the count's shoulder and poked it… that's all she could do at the moment aside from saying, "Blumiere! Snap out of it! How can you think it would end here, after all we have suffered without each other? We've found each other again because we stayed alive. How can you admit defeat now at all times?"

"I'm dying, how can I not now?"

"Well, I will not! I won't give up! You promised we'd find happiness. You promised!"

"That's right, Count!" sounded a voice that sounded like Mimi.

Speak of the devil, it was! Mimi and O'Chunks flipped in and walked over to the count and Tippi.

"My minions…" Bleck gasped weakly. "How did you find us? Here of all places?"

"Gosh, I could follow your big smile anywhere, Count!"

"Ah, she lies like a wee rug, this lass… Nastasia told us, Count! She said you'd come 'ere. Or… she said she _felt_ you'd be here…or somehin' along those lines."

"Nastasia…" spoke the count softly.

"Talk about goin' the extra mile! She even sacrificed 'erself teh save yeh!" continued O'Chunks. "Lissen, Count, I promised me life as well, an' I'm not afraid teh live up teh it! Yeh gotta let me 'elp!"

"Yeah! I mean, there's NOOO way _Dimentio's_ getting away with this! He pulled a really dirty trick on you, but we'll always stick by your side!" Mimi angrily input. She was tired of Dimentio anyway and wanted to get at him.

"My… My loyal minions…" The count started tearing up as his loyal minions showed affection and friendship to him.

Another dazzling flash of light. Eight smaller replicas of the Chaos Heart appeared in a circle above his head.

Yet another flash. Now all eight were coloured as if they were the Pure Hearts… but maybe they were actually the Pure Hearts themselves!

"Hmm… What's this? Pure…Hearts?" The count stood baffled and… looking better than ever. Somewhere in the flashes, his monocle was fixed, his cape rewoven, and his face returned back to its cheery, red self. "But why?"

"Isn't it obvious, Blumiere? Pure Hearts are the very feelings of our souls. As long as we feel love, they live on!"

"Tha lass 'as such a way wit words…" sniffled O'Chunks.

Tippi floated up to the centre of the circle and announced: "I'll take these to Phred!"

Dimension D disappeared in a flash of white and the scene returned to Castle Bleck.


	62. Chaos Versus Purity

**Wow, already done with SPP? It feels like it came and went in a flash. Is this how other authors feel when their story is coming to a close?  
**

* * *

Chapter 62: Chaos vs. Purity

"Hmph…" grunted Dimentio. Phred felt like he was mocking him for his efforts - which is true. He just didn't want to give up so easily, yet after all his hard work maybe it was time to face facts. This _was_ hopeless. Without the power of the Pure Hearts, there was nothing left to do but give up. Phred dropped his guard and accepted his demise.

"Let's stop wasting time and finish this, shall we? Ciao Phred and Rachel!"

"I guess this is it, Rach." whispered Phred, turning around to get one last glimpse of his wonderful girlfriend. He sniffled, holding tears back. "Good-bye."

Before Super Dimentio could even move however, two brilliant flashes filled the entire room.

All: What? !

"What in Grambi's name is going on?" yelled Rachel.

There was not just a flash this time, but a ping stringed together with it. When the light subsided, all eight Pure Hearts circled Super Dimentio's head.

"Phred, the Pure Hearts!" Rachel gasped.

"NO! The Pure Hearts? I thought you wasted them all fighting Count Bleck!" For the first time that Phred could tell, Dimentio sounded genuinely scared.

Another ping and flash and Super Dimentio was vulnerable again! You could even hear the earth cheering from the other side of the television screen, it was that loud.

"What's…happening? I'm not invincible anymore…" The behemoth dropped its head in disappointment.

"Serves you right!" Phred accused.

A third ping sounded and all of Phred's health returned. Then out of nowhere, Tippi quickly floated next to Phred.

"Tippi! You're back!" he cheered.

"Yes… Now's our chance… The Pure Hearts have given us power! Let's get him!"

"Yes, let's!" Rachel screamed.

"Not to burst your bubble," Phred started to say as he turned around to look at Rachel, "but you're still on the wall."

"Well…" she sighed. "Get a hit in for me, please."

"Phred! We have to attack _now_…" Tippi urged.

"Roger that, over and out!" he yelled as he made a run for the blocks to get a good hit.

_**Several Hits Later…**_

"Who knew you had it in you?" Super Dimentio asked.

"Well, you could have asked everyone that me and my friends have defeated over the course of this day; they could have told you."

"You fool! That was entirely your girlfriend's doing. After she joined your little team, she basically fought every fight for one reason or another."

"Honestly, I didn't mind at all…" piped in Rachel, trying to tug at the knives again.

"It won't matter anymore now that I'm about to send you back to the Underwhere permanently!"

Phred jumped on his head.

"Ow! Why you little…"

"Phred! Come over here! I have an idea." beckoned Rachel.

Phred heard her over Dimentio's careless yelling and managed to wander over.

"What's up? Well, aside from you," he joked.

"Very funny. Anyway—"

"There you are. Platforms, attack!" Every platform fired one of the pong balls at Phred.

"JUMP PHRED!"

"Huh?" He found himself jumping anyways. As he fell, the pong balls kept going for Rachel, but…

"I'M FREE- whoa! OOF." She landed on the floor not too gracefully. "I'm okay…" she moaned from the floor.

"Rach! Couldn't that have waited?" Tippi asked, concerned.

"No… I was holding on to Crudge. I would have let go, but I thought this would have been more exciting!"

Phred could only blankly stare.

"And that's why you're my girlfriend." he finally said. "Wanna deal the last blow? …at least, I'm pretty sure it's the last blow."

"Phred, you're the _main_ Hero here." argued she. "You've had to go through more than anybody today. This is your final moment. Now go get him Tigger!"

"…don't you mean tiger?"

"Nope! …Wait, do I? Oh what does it matter? Just kill Dimentio!"

Phred stepped forward to Super Dimentio and stopped dead in front of him.

"Ready to give up? It's five minutes to midnight, I really think you should."

"Dimentio, today I've been through a lot of stuff. I've dealt with annoying, crotchety old men like Watchitt, you sabotaging stuff, nerds wanting to steal practically every girl I'm friends with, outer space, Flint Cragley, death, and the pain of losing my friends. After all that, do you really think I'd just give up?"

"Four minutes thirty."

Phred raised Crudge up and hammered down so hard that the hammer that Crudge materialized in Phred's hands flew out and slammed into Dimentio's dress right in that special area. It was purely unintentional, but made Phred's point very clear.

Dimentio's voice turned soprano as he moaned in agonizing pain.

"Urgh-GAH!"

"Oooooooooh, you gotta know that hurt!" Tippi said with Rachel.

Before anyone knew it, the beast blew up. All that remained of it was the head; it landed on the floor in front of the couple and Tippi.

"How did you do it…?" moaned the dismembered head. "How could I have lost with the power of Ieda _and_ the Chaos Heart? **HOW?**"

"It just goes to show that your future isn't written… Nothing is decided entirely by fate; all things determine their destinies." explained Tippi eloquently. "Oh," she added, "don't worry, Dimentio. We'll be sure to add a footnote to the prophecy about your failure. Good-bye now, my sender away from Blumiere."

"WAIT, he's the one that sent you away from Bleck?"

"I was a good friend with his father! He practically begged me to ship her out of the world… Ow, my headdress…"

"Dimentio, you've been a bad man, but one thing still puzzles me. How'd we get in here? I'm sure this would have been a Mario adventure if it weren't for us."

"Funny story that… I fibbed earlier when I said it wasn't me, because it was."

Why were they not surprised at all?

After a tiny pause for a gasp of air, he went on explaining, "I discovered your location and started formulating my plan then. After all that was done, I bribed Nastasia to hypnotize Mimi for a good ten minutes. She figured it was just another prank so she did."

"Whoa whoa whoa, back up a sec. If it was Mimi for that first ten minutes… then that means it wasn't even the count that performed the ceremony?"

"No, it was. Anyway, the real trick was getting you inside. I quickly managed to get Mimi go temporarily use my teleportation powers and cleverly disguised it with one of the count's mini-Voids."

"Oh… wow that _is_ clever. I say you, good sir, have impressed well upon me!" Rachel found herself chuckled through her fake cockney accent. Phred couldn't help but look down at her and smile, hiding a laugh in this serious moment.

"Well, looks like you're time is up now, Dimentio." declared Tippi.

"Urrrrrrk… Unngghhhh… you think this is the end? This isn't finished! You can't…stop this now… You can't escape… I've been saving one last surprise! Ever wonder who gave you the parasol? _Ciao~!_"

The head started exploding as it spit out poor Ieda, free from Dimentio's grasp at last, and sank into the floor.

"Ieda!" Phred called out as he and Rachel ran for her. Tippi followed closely full of concern. Surprisingly, Ieda found the strength to stand up without assistance.

"Eh… Huh? Where the heck am I and what am I doing here?" she asked bewildered.

Before anyone could answer, the Chaos Heart floated down in between the two and disappeared in a flash. Rumbling soon followed, but it didn't last long.

Next, the count, plus Mimi and O'Chunks, flipped into the room.

"So," started Ble- I mean, Blumiere, "it seems the end of all worlds is really upon us…"

"Hold up, defeating Dimentio wasn't enough?" Phred frantically asked.

"I thought the Chaos Heart would disappear if the person controlling it fell. He must have left behind a shadow of his power to continue controlling it…"

"Ohmigod, I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I see it before?" Rachel randomly blurted out.

"What is it?" Mimi wanted to know.

"I've been carrying it all this time… guys, the parasol is Dimentio's last shadow of power! Look at the handle. It used to be just a D, but now it's a name!"

She held out the parasol for everyone to see and sure enough, it was a name: Dimentio.

"There's no time to destroy it, now. There's only one thing left to do. I didn't dare mention it to Nastasia; she would have gone ballistic. Ahem!"

Count Bleck raised his hands up and forced a giant door to appear.

"Wow… y'know, I've played another of these _Paper Mario_ games, and I think this door is bigger than the Thousand Year one or whatever it's called."

"Ieda, now's not the time."

"This way!" ordered Blumiere and they all walked through.

* * *

**Quick, secret escape route! *dashes away* Will the worlds be saved in time or will they spaghettify? (Supreme Chocolate Cake with a cherry filling to those who get the reference!)**

**What are y'all goin' as for All Hallows Eve? :D  
**


	63. The Eternal Promise

Chapter 64: The Eternal Promise

Once again, one solitary line drew the ground in which the Heroes and former villains would stand on. Suddenly, it headed up, then left, then up, then left again. You could even say it made stairs… it was actually doing that.

Anywho, when it was finished making stairs, there stood a balcony and a gazebo. Flowers popped out and adorned it. A baptismal font appeared and stood in the centre. Then the background appeared. It was marvelously blue, green, even turquoise! The hard to see patterns matched those of Castle Bleck.

The door appeared and all seven people stepped out with a herd of Pixls.

The first two to recognize the room were…

"Oh, my gosh!" Ieda gasped breathless.

"I know! This is the wedding chapel!" Rachel finished for her.

"Timpani… do you still… do you still love me?" asked the count urgently.

"Yes…Blumiere. Of course I do." She answered.

"Then you must come with me-"

"'Ey, Count! What're yeh doin'?"

"We will use the Pure Hearts again, O'Chunks. But this time, we will use them to banish the Chaos Heart. All we need is true love… and that's something I am lucky enough to possess."

"Count, couldn't Rachel and I do this?"

"Absolutely not. I have caused enough damage today and I feel I need to correct my wrong. Besides… when the Chaos Heart vanishes, the Pure Hearts and those linked to them may cease to exist."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I guess this is good-bye Tipps."

"Yes, Phred. Now I must part ways with you. I'm sorry this is so sudden, but we must do this to negate the Chaos Heart."

"Tippi, I'm gonna miss you. I mean it. And I'm sorry for yelling at you in the mansion. I was just having a moment—"

"Rachel, you had every right to be angry at me for whatever reason. You had just met me. I actually don't blame you."

"Tippi, I didn't get a chance to really get to know you, but you're cool. I wish we could meet up in the future and just talk."

"That would be nice. There's so much about you and Ray I am curious about."

"Ray! He's not here!" Rachel suddenly realized.

"He's still asleep. My guess is that Dimentio wanted him out cold until he died… when he wakes up, tell him thank you and give him a message for me."

"Shoot!"

"Tell him: because I wanted to do the right thing and not fall victim to coercion. He should know what I'm referring to and if he doesn't, well… just another thing to brood over next time he's alone with a knife in his hand."

"Tippi! I'm surprised! That's a little dark for you to say."

"I'm sure it's true, though." She probably winked.

"…Yeah, you're right."

"Timpani, it's time."

"But Count-y! I don't want you to go!" Mimi protested.

"All of this is my fault. The price is mine to pay…"

Heroes: _Not entirely your fault…!_

"And besides, I do not have long to live anyway. But you do, Mimikins." She instantly blushed.

"Timpani, it pains me to know this may cut your game short. Sadly there's no other way to end all this."

"I understand Blumiere… I know. Don't say another word… As long as I am with you, nothing else matters."

"Oh, I promised myself I wouldn't cry!" Rachel sobbed.

That's when the rumbling started.

"Agggghhhh! It's…happening!" screamed Ieda over the noise of the rumbling. It lessened, but still continued on.

"Come, my Timpani."

"Yes, Blumiere."

They flew right up to the balcony under their gazebo.

**~*-SPP-*~**

The count and Timpani stood on either side of the font with the Chaos Heart floating above it.

"There were so many things I wanted to say to you…but I could not find the words."

"Oh, Blumiere… Only one thing matters to me now. I never had the chance to return your question… Blumiere, do you still love me as well?"

"Of course… I have thought about you every moment since you disappeared…"

Tippi didn't dare say who it was that sent her away.

"But I have caused you so much suffering…" he continued.

"I guess… I do admit I think my life would be more carefree without you, but I'll never know."

"But I had to be with you, Timpani-" "-And me with you!-" "And I apologize for that."

"I know, Blumiere. And I love you."

"And I love you, Timpani. Hundreds of thousands of years from now, that fact will not have changed."

There was another ping and the Pure Hearts appeared. They circled the Chaos Heart and lifted it up. Then, they moved in closer and covered it up in a sea of golden light.

There was another flash.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Everything's shaking!" Mimi noticed.

"Are we too late?" Rachel asked.

There was a moment of silence just in case. But then…

"Wait a minute guys, do you hear that?" asked Ieda in a hush voice.

"Harble-deh! Thems be bells!"

"Wedding bells… how fitting. It's as if they're giving you two a blessing. Mazel Tov," whispered Phred solemnly.

The shaking slowed to a stop.

**~*-SPP-*~**

All the Koopas that were keeping Ray's fort in the Bitlands safe were still there, but they were also cowering.

Then, for some peculiar reason, they all heard bells in the background.

The next thing they knew, The Void was shrinking!

Silently, they all cheered for Ray and thanked him.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Back in the land of Cragnons, that world was actually ended.

Thus, the lines started drawing again and civilization returned to the prehistoric town.

To top it off, a Cragnon danced on the platform thanking Big Rock Who Watches.

**~*-SPP-*~**

One of King Samner's guys was sleeping on the job… and King Sammer was none too happy about it. What if the Hero came back to claim the treasure that wasn't there anymore? He needed to keep them occupied while he looked for something else to give as a prize.

So he shouted at the Sammer Guy to wake up. Said guy did and they both smiled, happy to be alive.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Emiloy was busy kissing the camera guy as she thanked God while Danile and Dick sat and stared at the television.

"Well, there you have it Earth." Commented Anita Brigens from behind. "Proof that love _does_ conquer all. From Sothern California's local news station, this is Anita Brigens, signing off. Good night everyone."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"**Timpani…do you remember  
the promise we made to  
each other that day?"**

"**Yes, I remember…**

**If there was a place where  
we could be happy together,  
we would find it."**

"**Will you come with me to  
that place now?"**

"**Blumiere… Of course…**

**I will always…**

**Be with you."**

**

* * *

**

**Fail on my part because I _almost_ posted the chapter after this one. That would have caused some confusion...**

**If you don't understand Tippi's message to Ray, go back and re-read Chapter 4-2**.


	64. A Hard Goodbye

**Liek blah blah blah blah almost over blah blah blah blah 2 chapters blah blah blah blah just read. Blah blah review too blah blah blah blah.**

* * *

Chapter 65: It's Hard to Say Good-Bye

"….red…..Phred…" called a voice Phred couldn't recognize immediately.

_Tippi... that's how you first greeted me. Then that must mean...!  
_

Phred opened his eyes so fast that he had to wait for them to readjust. When he could finally see, he didn't see Tippi, or Bleck for that matter. He didn't even see Timpani or Blumiere. He only saw his friends, his new friends, and Nastasia lying on Ray (both were still unconscious).

"Finally awake, Phred?" Ieda asked gently in case he was still sensitive.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." he answered plainly. He felt physically fine, but he felt a hole in his heart... the hole only seeing a friend in person can fill.

All of a sudden, Mimi shrieked, "Guys! Nassy's moving!" And sure enough, the mysterious blue woman got off of Ray, put her glasses back on adjusting them, and stood in her perfect stance as if she hadn't died or anything.

"Great leapin' bog monkeys! Nastasia, she draws breath once again, lads!"

"That time, I actually understood you." Phred muttered to himself.

"Nastasia! 'EY! NASTASIA! Miracle o' miracles! GRA-GOOGLY-HEY-HOORAH!"

"I spoke too soon…"

"…Mmm? Um… I… I'm alive?"

Just then, Ray started moving too. Instead of standing, he just sat there on the floor stretching his long legs out.

"What… happened? And why's the Void still there?"

"Phred, Ray, Rachel, and you guys, look in the sky!" Ieda mentioned.

Everyone looked in the direction of the Void and caught a glimpse of it just as it closed up completely with one last flash of lightning. Their trials and tribulations were finally over and all were ecstatic that it paid off well.

"Hooray!" Rachel cheered while the others exchanged glances of fulfillment. Phred shared in a sigh of relief with Ray, and to his surprise Ray didn't argue for whatever reason.

"Yes. It is proof that the Prophecy of Destruction has not come to be." Said a voice all too familiar to every present person at that point.

"Merlon!" they all shouted.

"Yes, Nolrem and I still live and all worlds have been saved. The Dark Prophecy has lost its power… Thusly, the worlds that were lost return to normalcy. You all have done well! It is all thanks to you." He extended a hand to gesture to all the Heroes.

"It was nothing," shrugged Ray.

"I had a blast helping you save the worlds!" input Ieda.

"I'm glad you picked _Super Paper Mario_, Ray." Rachel said.

"I am too," was all Phred could say.

"Hold a moment… where's Tippi?" Merlon asked as he finally noticed the lack of flapping.

"She and Blumiere are… let's say happier now."

"I see. This, too, must have been under the guidance of the Pure Hearts…"

"It only makes me wonder where they went." Rachel thought out loud.

"I shudder to think about it, but surely when the prophecy was nullified—"

"Um, no… They're alive." Nastasia said smiling.

All: o_O

"Yeah, they're finally united. They overcame time and fulfilled their old vows. Somewhere, the count…is living together with Tippi…in…um…happiness…" she started to frown, and that's when the waterworks broke down completely.

"C-C-C-Count! NOOOOOOOO! I… I'm all alone! What am I going to do now?" she wailed with both hands over her eyes.

"'Ey now, me wee Nastasia… I'm believin' the count is still alive, too. An' if he is alive, lass, we wouldn't want to be shamin' 'im with blubberin'! Pull it together, 'ey?"

"He's right, Nassy!" added Mimi. "We still have each other! We can still build the count's world! So, c'mon! Big smile!"

"O'Chunks… Mimi…" she sniffled and wiped the tears away with her sleeve. "Y-You're right. Yeah, I can't just sob like this forever. The count would never have approved."

"That's the spirit, Nassy!" Rachel cheered.

"We have to create the ideal world that, um, the count wished for in his heart… A world full of love, not war. Yeah… let's all pencil that in. An appointment…of hope." Everyone, including Ray, smiled tenderly and with approval.

"Farewells are bittersweet… but as long as you live, you can never escape them. To feel sadness is to live… but as long as you are alive, the future is a blank page."

"And with that, how do we get out? We've done our job, our work here is done… we're useless in the game now." Inquired Phred.

"Wow, never thought about how to get back."

"Now I have been thinking about this lately and I have an idea. First though, I've asked Saffron to make some of her celebrated snacks for us."

"I am kinda hungry. The last thing I remember eating was from yesterday," said Ieda.

"Then let us heal our weariness by devouring a banquet of scrumptious sweets!"

"Rachel, you literally stole the words right from my mouth." chuckled Merlon.

"We really haven't had food since the picnic in Chapter 5… why not? We'll worry about getting home later."

"Make way! I'm getting some of that food first!" yelled Ray as he raced through the crowd of friends. Everyone else followed close as he headed for the elevator.

All, except…

Merlon: …

"Merlon, what is it?" Rachel had not gone down yet and noticed Merlon, so she stayed to see what was wrong.

"Ah, Rachel… I'm thinking of Tippi- I mean, Lady Timpani. I wonder if she truly is happy now."

"Of course she is. She's with the love of her life now and nothing to separate them again."

"Ho ho ho ho. Yes, of course."

"C'mon, Merlon. Let's have at those snacks."

The two walked over to the elevator together and talked about whatever. The elevator finally came and off they were to finally have fun with friends.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**So the Dark Prophecy was  
averted and peace reigned.**

**The Dark Prognosticus  
again faded into history…**

**Count Blumiere and his love,  
Lady Timpani, both vanished.**

**Where did the pair go?  
None know.**

**And so the story of the  
lost book of prophecies  
comes to an end…**

**May we meet again in  
another time and place…**

**

* * *

**

**More like 2 weeks. You'll see why... in 2 weeks. And you know what else is in 2 weeks? ...2 weeks (and the end of a week long Thanksgiving Break for me). Sorry for being a jerk like that**.


	65. Two Weeks Later

**The epilogue. Probably the longest chapter in the story (not counting the A/Ns). My major concern is that I hope it doesn't end- strike that, BEGIN too awkwardly...**

**And before you read, I wanna remind you that this story started last summer and took place in the span of one day. Now they're two weeks after that day. They're not magically in November of this year.  
**

* * *

Chapter 66: Two Weeks Later...

Ray bounced down the stairs after smelling the tender scent of bacon sizzling on the oven. His mind was set on going to the kitchen and nothing would get in his way. Luckily there was nothing, so he just bolted after landing on the tiles at the foot of the stair.

"Good morning Ray." said Emiloy's voice before Ray poked his head into the kitchen.

"Morning mom! What's for breakfast? Bacon and toast with a side dish of grapes?"

"Nope!" This confused Ray. He could totally smell bacon on the oven and toast still in the toaster. He poked his head and saw his mother from behind. There was something wrong, but he couldn't quite figure it out in time

"No, the only thing for breakfast today is…" she turned around to face Ray, "YOUR PATHETIC GAME! AH HA HA~!" It was really Dimentio disguised as his bubbly mother. What gave him away was the fact that he still wore his mask. Another thing that messed his disguise up was his apron: it was coloured like Dimension D, had little frills on the bottom coloured violet... or grey in Ray's case, and it read "Kiss your Master!" ("of Dimensions" was underneath the words, but smaller) in goldenrod cursive.

He picked up a leek from the counter and spun it with his fingers deftly as he approached scared Ray. The oven, the cupboards, and even the sink instantly burst into flames as the room darkened dramatically. Dimentio chuckled; a smirk started to grow on his face.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" screamed Ray as Dimentio lunged forward and tackled him to the ground. Dimentio started smacking him with the leek and even put it up to his throat in an attempt to choke him.

"How does it feel to be hated? It's empowering, isn't it? Are you getting the feeling to lung up and attack back? WELL?"

Dimentio was pushing him down too hard for him to respond.

"This is one of the many reasons I hate love. With it you become a weakling like dear old Bleck. His father did not want that to happen, plus it was extremely frowned upon to be seen with a human in his tribe. Bleck's father wanted him to become powerful without the weight of love hanging over him. Though little did he know that Bleck would become just as powerful but in a different way."

Dimentio loosened his grip, allowing Ray to wheeze a bit. "Why... are... you... telling me... this..."

Ray's tormentor blankly stared him square in the eye, as if he were stealing his non-existent soul. Then without warning grabbed his pajama collar and hoisted him against one of the walls that wasn't burning, choking him again. "I was in love once. 'It couldn't work out,' she had said weeks after meeting this cute prince at a party we went to as a couple. She began to hate me, and I began to perfect my powers with this hate. Sadly that's when I went mad and accidentally murdered her."

Ray couldn't stop fidgeting. His face started turning blue and he started to sweat due to the extreme heat of the room. Dimentio saw this and released him, not wanting to kill him. Ray dropped to the floor and lay there on his back. Before he could move to get up, Dimentio plopped his bottom onto Ray's chest and crossed his legs and arms.

"I see I bored you with my life story so I'll get down to business. DON'T rely on love. It'll royally screw you over in the end. It did me and now I pass the baton over to you... enjoy the Underwhere!"

He started to raise his leeked hand over his head while a shadow veiled the demonic jester's mask and disguise. When it reached the apex, Ray could do nothing but stare with his now tear-filled eyes and brace himself for the end.

But Dimentio didn't do what Ray expected. With his arm still in the air, Dimentio leaned in and pecked Ray on the lips.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Ray lunged forward, bed sheets in hand, screaming for his life when he realized he was still in bed. The sun was out and shining through his dusty window, so he figured he must have only overslept. His hands let go of the sheets and they floofed back down into his lap. He steadied his breathing and finally found enough strength to get out of bed.

When Rachel burst through the door however, Ray shrieked. He pulled the covers up to him as if they would protect him, he reached for his bedside knife and held it up as if he was going to throw it. He declared in a wavering voice, "Go away Dimentio!"

"Ray," Rachel without reaction to the knife, "you had that nightmare again."

"Oh, it's you..." he sighed, relieved he was back in reality. "Did I? It-it seemed kinda different this time."

"O RLY?" Rachel asked with her usual big, bright smile. She stepped over to him and grabbed the knife out of his hand and put it down back on his nightstand.

"Oh, don't start that up again... and yes really."

"How so?"

"He went on about his past and then almost killed me... but he didn't. He-" Ray gulped. No matter how hard he wanted to say what happened next, he just couldn't make himself do it. It was so weird that Dimmy had even found any interest in him in the first place. And then having to explain this to his sister? He knew she knew that he knew he wasn't gay, but the thought of just the opposite... his own sister turning him away even though they already had a gay relative in the family. He couldn't bear it.

But maybe that's what Dimentio meant about the whole hate thing and hating love thing and whatever else he driveled on about. Maybe he was sending a subliminal message telepathically and explaining some loose plot hole... no, but it sounded good enough to get him out of this jam.

"He just... oh I dunno how to explain it out loud. I guess he expressed a fondness for me?"

_Yes! It worked_. he thought while she looked at him blankly for a few seconds. Finally she said something. "Wow, that is different from the other dreams. Usually he almost kills you on the spot."

"Exactly."

"Well, Mom really wants you to go see your psychiatrist today. She's scared- even _I'm_ getting a bit scared! You know that's saying something after all that we've been through together."

"No I won't go see him."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"NO."

"Pretty please?"

"Yes."

"…Really?"

"NO!"

Rachel sighed. "Fine. Anyhow, mom's got breakfast waiting for us downstairs. Oh, and I should warn you that more surprises came for us in the mail this morning." She hugged her frowning brother and headed back downstairs.

He took a few minutes to change out of his pajamas and into something… dark. He couldn't find anything after the aforementioned few minutes, so he gave in and wore some old, faded blue jeans and some random orange long-sleeve shirt. He didn't like it because it barely fit, but it would have to do.

The stairs glided under his feet as the sound of thumping came out from under them. He noticed as he glided down that his friends and Rachel were standing and talking in a circle. …fine it was a triangle, but they were huddling around some package on a stool. He didn't see Emiloy, so he figured she was still cooking that breakfast Rachel mentioned.

He noticed their clothes as he hopped down. Rachel was wearing some pink getup with no other sign of any other color. Ieda decided to do something bold and wear green – Phred's signature colour – with some ripped dark-blue jeans that Ray knew were her favourite. And Phred… admittedly, this was Ray's first time seeing Phred in something not green. Today of all days, he decided to wear a red t-shirt and some worn, faded blue jeans.

Rachel turned, distracting Ray from his observation, while Phred and Ieda were talking and called, "Ray!" The other two turned at the sound of his name and looked up at him. "Come over here! There's something that came for us in the mail."

Figuring he had no other choice, he walked over to the group.

"What is this?" he asked, stopping next to Rachel and Ieda.

"This," started Phred, "is a thank you gift from our newest friends."

"Isn't that, oh I don't know, impossible? I mean you all saw them disappear. You told me about the wedding and-and the message and—"

"Well, this is living proof that they're still alive. Look what they gave you!" Ieda reached into the foam peanuts and pulled out a purple and yellow decorated bottle with the words 'Demented by Dimentio' on a label decorated with starbursts and Dimentio's head smiling with his eyes closed (or what looked like his eyes when they were closed).

"Wha…?"

"I know! And check this out. Ieda got a Floro Sprout planting kit, Phred got the Return Pipe, and I got that fetch parasol!"

"You guys can't be serious. Shouldn't there be a letter from them? These things always have a letter."

"Hey kids," Emiloy called as she entered the room, "I think this letter that looks like it goes with the box of goodies fell off. Weren't you guys looking for this earlier?"

Heroes: *stare*

"Okay, fine. I was waiting to do that. Here you go, Ray." She handed him an envelope and he snatched it right out of her hand. On the front, he read aloud 'To the Heroes of Prophecy; From your new friends Lady Timpani and Lord Blumiere' and then tore the back, pulled out the slip of paper, and read.

**~*-Letter-*~**

Dear Phred and Friends,

Thank you so much for helping in the quest of saving everything. Blumiere also wants me to say thank you for saving him from destruction before it consumed him totally. While he's not peeking, I want to say thank you for that as well.

All of you are probably wondering how we came upon all these fantastic gifts. Let me tell you it was not easy securing all of these gifts, but we managed. In the end, we needed to reveal our existence and consult Merlon and Nolrem... even Francis. You should have seen what Blumiere almost did when he found out that he was the one who kidnapped me in Chapter 3!

There should be a second package on the way soon. I hope it reaches you; this one was hard to mail because we couldn't find where any of you live! Emiloy – I do hope that's the correct spelling – must have taken extra precautions to protect her family and friends. She must really love all of you. Treasure that.

From all of your new friends,  
Blumiere and Tipps :)

P.S. Everyone says 'hi' and they compliment the new hairstyles Phred and Rachel got.

**~*-Letter-*~**

"Wow." Ieda mumbled.

"A second package? When will we get it?" Phred wondered.

"Who cares about that? How did they know about our hair?"

"Rachel, if they found out where we live, they can find the news."

"How, Ray? HOW?"

"Emiloy, do you have the tape?" Phred asked loudly.

"Yep!" she shouted from the kitchen. "Lemme just finish cooking the bacon and I'll get it for you guys. Set the VCR up in the meantime!"

"We still have that thing?" Ray whispered to Rachel, who only shrugged her shoulders.

"I know your house better than both of you…" Phred trailed as he wandered over to one of their cabinets and found the VCR inside. "Isn't that sad?"

"It's effin' creepy if you ask me."

"I'll hook it up Phred." Ieda volunteered.

"Rachel, can you help me out here in the kitchen?"

"Sure mom! Be right back you three." She disappeared off in the kitchen and left all three alone to simply chill out.

_Ding dong!_ went the doorbell. Ray and Phred turned around at the sound of it.

"That must be the second package. I'll get it, Ray." Ray didn't object. Instead, he sat on the couch and sighed. He leaned his body back on the couch and closed his eyes with his hands on his head.

Saving the world, he had come to find out, took a lot of energy and usually a week or two to recover. And if that was the case, then why was he still tired? Why was he having nightmares, too? He never had nightmares after an adventure this grand. Maybe it was because this was the first one with real evil? Nah… that was a lame reason.

His thoughts wandered for what he felt was a few more minutes before…

"All done!" "Thanks, Mr. UPS Guy." "Ray, clear the table!" "Rachel, careful with that plate."

Ray's eyes flew open at the sound of all the commotion. Rachel was placing the plate of bacon on the table while Phred put the box (there were holes in it that resembled air holes) next to the bacon and Emiloy placed the videotape inside the VCR and sat with the kids.

"Thank goodness I'm friends with Anita or else we would have never gotten a copy of this." Commented Emiloy right as the picture came on the screen.

**~*-VCR-*~**

"We're here live on the scene with the saviors of the universe at their house. Here is local Phred Katzer with girlfriend Rachel Brekon to tell us what they plan to do now that they have saved the world. Phred, do you have a comment?"

"I'm getting a haircut."

"And why is that?" she asked.

"Throughout the journey, everyone made fun of it or referenced it or something. So I'm cutting it and doing nothing else to it."

"I see. Are you planning to do something to your hair as well, Rachel?"

"Yep! I'm _never_ putting highlights in my hair again." She smiled and waited for Anita to comment.

Anita: …

"Hey, where's Ray?" Phred asked. Ieda came onto the screen and responded, "He went to bed."

"Hmm. So how did you even get out—"

**~*-VCR-*~**

It suddenly switched to the Snow Channel.

"Wait, that's it?" Ray asked. "We just saved the world from utter destruction and all you talked about was your _**hair**_?"

"We talked about other stuff afterwards, it's just that the video is cut off…" reassured Ieda. Then she turned to Emiloy and asked, "Emiloy, why is it cut off?"

"She didn't have much time on her schedule to make me a copy. That's also why it's on a cassette tape."

Unsatisfied, Ray reached over for a piece of bacon and started to devour it.

"Let's see what's in the package now!" suggested an enthusiastic Rachel. She started to bounce up and down in excitement. Ray was bouncing with Rachel and so was Phred; Rachel was bouncing really intensely.

"Calm down, Rach. Ieda, would you mind opening the package while she calms down and the boys recover?"

"No prob, Mrs. B." She reached over and grabbed the package from the coffee table and then realized that she needed something sharp to open it. Rachel had put away the scissors they used for the first package when she went up to get Ray, so she needed to go back to the kitchen. "I'll be right back." Off she went, then.

Ray wasn't far behind… but for a different reason.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" He jumped to his feet and covered his mouth with hands and said, "Lifelong lesson: don't eat bacon before you get shaken violent- URP!" He ran for the bathroom before something bad happened.

For a moment, there was only the sound of the stabbing and snipping of box-tape in the other room, but soon, Rachel broke the silence.

"So, an entire two weeks without Tippi. How does that make you feel?" she asked Phred.

"Well," he said, reaching for a piece of bacon, "it's weird. I miss her, but I don't because I know she's much happier now. What about you?"

"Same. But I also miss having another girlfriend to talk to. I feel lonely."

"Yeah. We may have each other, but we're all lonely since the adventure." He sighed, and then brought the piece of bacon to his mouth.

Suddenly, a shrill shriek filled the house.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!" It was Ieda. Everyone in the living room spun and raced over to the kitchen to see what was the matter. Phred got there first, followed by Emiloy and then Rachel.

"Ieda, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just shocked at the present."

"What is—" The toilet flushing interrupted Rachel. A few seconds later, Ray appeared on the other side of the island where the box was.

"Are you okay, Ieda?" he panted with concern. She answered, "Yeah," and let him have a moment to realize what made her scream. Too bad he didn't notice because Rachel decided to get into his personal business.

"I hope you washed your hands, Ray."

"Of course I did! …will."

"Eww, that's just gross." Remarked Phred.

"Well sorry for being a concerned boyfriend!"

"Ray, wash your hands in the sink while Ieda unpacks the present." Emiloy commanded.

"I think I can manage to get out of a box, thank you very much." Said a voice that was not known to be in the room.

All but Ieda: What?

"Guys," said Ieda, "meet Tiptron." She stepped off to the side and revealed an identical Pixl-like resemblance of the one and only Timpani.

"Um, hello Phred and everyone. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" she asked.

"It's only been two weeks. Are you… Tippi?"

"No, she isn't. She's… maybe I should read the letter." Ieda cleared her throat and began reading the slip of paper on the counter.

**~*-Letter-*~**

Dear all,

This is Nastasia writing. I wanted to catch you all up to speed about what's been going on in the past two weeks. I found myself wandering into Flopside with nowhere to go. I'm usually in my own special spot under the Flopside Tower, but when the memories of Blumiere come back to haunt me, Nolrem usually ends up finding me and offers me some food at the local café to cheer me up. He keeps telling me to 'expand my horizons' in the field of love. He even suggested I go out with O'Chunks once to try something new. I probably should listen to him, but I know there's a void in my heart that only Blumiere can fill. No pun intended.

Speaking of O'Chunks, he spends most of his time under the Flipside Tower contemplating the time he spent with the count. Sometimes, he comes to visit me with a flower or food and asks me if I would accompany him to Dyllis' diner for small talk. He hasn't asked me out officially yet (the reason why Nolrem suggests I ask first) and I can tell he wants to, but for a man who led armies into battle without promising chances, he sure gets shy around me.

Mimi got a full-time job at Merlee's Mansion as the Head Caretaker, but actually Mimi was gifted the house because Merlee is living here in Flopside now. She rarely leaves her house. But Mimi enjoys working again. Once or twice, she came to visit me to go on a 'girl's day out' or to just chat about something. I enjoy her time with me; she taught me to enjoy the spontaneous and always make space for her in my dull schedule.

Dimentio has been confirmed dead. That's all we know about the matter and we're pretty content with only knowing that. No body has been found and no one has mentioned any magical dimensional disturbances, so that's good news.

I nearly forgot! I spotted Lady Timpani in town with Blumiere earlier last week. They were entering Nolrem's house when I spotted them, so I let everyone know, told them to meet me here, and then we all waited. In no time at all, they exited and you should have seen the looks on their faces when they saw us standing at the door. Blumiere was dashing as usual, but Lady Timpani… she is absolutely gorgeous. All of you would have loved to see her for who she really is. That's why there's a group photo at the bottom of the box. We all had fun the rest of that day, but soon it was time for them to go back to their perfect world. It seemed as if they needed to finish something rather important. For some reason, that inspired me to get this done.

The next week, I decided to send something for you guys. The only problem was figuring out what to send. A letter wouldn't be enough, so I poked around the newspaper. In the Classifieds, I found an ad from Francis saying something about a Tippi replica. I didn't read it fully, but knew that I didn't have enough coins on my own, so I decided to pool all of our coins to get this gift for you.

Today, or whenever you receive this, I saw Lady Timpani in town again. She was holding a package not unsimilar to my own; I guess there is no postal service in their perfect world. She spotted me with my package and offered to mail mine with hers. I didn't even know she was talking to me at the time, and when I found out I felt embarrassed. I told her not to yet because I had yet to write a letter for the package. As luck would have it, she hadn't either, so we're spending a few minutes writing our letters.

I'm running out of things to talk about and Timpani is probably waiting for me. I hope Tiptron will be more of an addition instead of a painful reminder of the friendship you formed. I'm sure the Return Pipe can get you back in. It got you out, didn't it? You must come back so we can reminisce some time. Mimi actually mentioned the last time we hung out that she would want to take Rachel shopping, "her treat!"

Hoping this package arrives to you soon,  
Nastasia et al.

P.S. Tiptron has personality problems. When she's talking about herself, she might get confused about whether she's the real Tippi or not. Francis didn't bother to mention that part in his advertisement at all, so keep your wits about you, 'K?

**~*-Letter-*~**

"Wow, everyone's so nice now!" Rachel said, holding back tears.

"Ray, is that a tear on your cheek?" Phred asked.

"NO." Yes, it was. "Shut up, narrator!"

"All this remembering has made me feel sad and empty. Now I want another adventure!" Rachel now had tears building up in her eyes. The rest of the group could only look at her and stare in sympathy, secretly wishing the same. Ieda started crying too, and Ray just moped.

"Everyone…" started Tiptron, "please calm down. Phred, can't you calm them down?"

"I can't control their emotions. Sorry Tipps- uh, I mean Tiptron."

"Don't be… I sorta didn't expect you could for some reason…"

The room stayed quiet for at least five minutes while everyone expressed their emotions openly.

"Rachel," Emiloy finally said, thoughtfully, "you just said you wanted another adventure, right?" She nodded. "Well, why don't you all take a vacation during Spring Break?"

They all just stared back, wiping their tears away, as if to say, "Isn't that a long way away?"

"Yes, that is a long way away, but this way it'll be easier to plan and make sure everyone can go to wherever you four go off to. I'm sure Danile and I can pay for this somehow…" she trailed, turning her head to look for something.

"Well it gives us something to look forward to, I guess." Phred awkwardly said as he broke the silence in the room.

"Yeah. That is refreshing." Ray agreed. "But enough. Now that we've had our fun, I guess I gotta go restart my English homework since school's tomorrow—"

Before Ray could put the period on his sentence, Rachel lit up and turned to her younger brother. "Wait a minute! I'll be right back." She flew up the stairs and left everyone in the kitchen in a tizzy. Practically seconds later, she returned with a bunch of papers in her arms clutched between them and her stomach.

When he saw what she retrieved from upstairs, Ray immediately raised his eyebrows and smiled in disbelief. "That… no… wha-… Don't tell me that's my papers and that you've had them all this time."

"Yep!" was her simple response. What Ray did next was so shocking, so unusual, so out of character that everyone around the two had to step back and pinch themselves to test and see if what they had just witnessed was real or not.

Ray decided to ignore Dimentio's final appearance to him and finally love. To demonstrate, he genuinely hugged Rachel. With a smile. And thanked her.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**With the worlds saved,  
Ray's homework found,  
and gifts received…**

**The Brekons and company  
went outside to enjoy  
what Earth had to offer.**

**So with the camera  
of your mind fixed on  
the various gifts-**

**The souvenirs,  
the two heartwarming  
letters in cursive…**

**And the picture  
frame of their new  
virtual friends-**

**Set on the coffee table,  
magically the words**

"**The End"**

**Appeared right above them  
all, proudly arched in the air.**

**Fair readers, let us find ourselves to meet again later at another place and time.**

**

* * *

**

**Did I just slash Dimmy and Ray in a dream sequence? Sadly and I still have no idea why. Can't wait for all the flaming comments! 9_9 And between you and me, I edited the dream sequence yesterday originally to tweak and patch up... after a few minutes it turned into what you see now. As Smugleaf would say, "U mad?"  
**

**Aaaaanyway, et voila! C'est fini! Merci beaucoup les personnes suivantes:**

**•Child at Heart Forever - You're the best friend anyone could have on here. Thank you for helping me out during Chapter 3. Had you not, I'm sure this would have stayed the dull version it started out as.  
•Lord of the Storms 28 - Thanks for telling me that each chapter that you commented on was awesome. That one word makes a difference in my day. And thanks for asking so many questions.  
•Anyone else who commented - yes, even those late comers who waited until the last few chapters to comment get a special shout out too. You're welcome.  
•My Wii and THE GAME (SPM silly!) - Without it, this story would never have started. :P**

**And lastly... I wanna thank my characters. I wanna say thanks for cooperating with me all the way - most of the way with Ray - and wish you would cooperate with me for your real plots. -.-* Consider this practice, my sla- (oh right... slavery's kinda been out since the Civil War) uh, minions!  
**

**Well, until the next fanfiction this has been Author XIV. Signing off with sore fingers and a tired brain... Mark your calendars for Christmas!**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.  
**

**.**

**.**

**.  
**

**The Void was probably just the Dark Prognosticus plus the Chaos Heart all over zero (think in math terms). 8D  
**


	66. The Whoa Zone Revisited

**Oh, hello there reader.  
I didn't see you there.  
How's it going?**

**Anyway, today I'll  
tell you of another story  
about the Heroes.**

**This is the fabled  
Lost Chapter of the  
story read to you earlier.**

**It is a tale of both  
woe and confusion  
sided with animated fun.**

**Without further ado,  
here is what would happen  
if Ray didn't drop his trash…**

**~*-SPP-*~**

Chapter 67: The Whoa Zone Revisited  
Subtitle: How Physics Got Broken

Ray sipped the last of his Slurpee as Squirps described the setting of the green maze that caught Phred's full attention.

"We're here, squeeegle! This is the Whoa Zone!"

"_Sluuuuuuuurpppp… slurp SLUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRPP… SSSSS—_"

"Cut it out, Ray!" Rachel scolded.

"Squirps can't wait! Squirps is going to scurry ahead. Follow Squirps when you can. Squarp!"

"What? You can't leave us to get lost in here!" Phred argued.

"_Slurrrp…_"

"Don't worry! Just pay attention to where you're going and you won't get lost, squeerp! Well, Squirps will see you later…at the spot where the Pure Heart waits!" The little child of green then left the four to comprehend that he had actually left them.

"I can't believe that creature left us at a time like this…" Tippi told the others. "But… I must say that the presence of the Pure Heart is slightly overwhelming in this realm… It's somewhere in this zone…"

"Yeah… at the end." Ray said as he straddled over to a nearby trashcan and recycled the decorated paper cup.

"Well, we better get moving if we wanna make tracks in this apparent maze." Phred started walking right, thinking that this maze was a piece of cake.

Rachel was the one to say it out loud, though.

"Geez, and Squirps had me thinking that this would be some sort of super complicated maze of certain doom or something. The door's right there in plain sight!"

But through that next door, a plethora of Tileoid Rs and a lone Tileoid Y swarmed and covered the floor, ceiling, and three of the four walls holding the room up.

"This may be harder than we thought…" commented Tippi who inched closer to Phred for protection. Rachel saw her do this, but didn't get angry with her. Rachel wanted the support of a certain family member for comfort. She leaned over for him, needing something to cling to, but fell over on her side.

"Whoa!" she gasped as her body thumped on the floor.

Phred and Tippi looked back to see what was the matter and found no Ray.

"Where is Ray?" wondered Tippi.

"I dunno. Maybe he just went ahead of us to go explore?"

"Quick! We need to find him before he gets lost!"

Phred, as much as he wanted to, couldn't bring himself to say yes to Rachel's request. He knew that if he didn't go look for his disgruntled friend that Rachel would be worried sick. On the other hand, Ray could be clearing a path up ahead for the group, which would be helpful. But how long would Ray last? _Long enough_, thought Phred.

"Rach, I'm sure he'll be fine without us for a little bit. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

**~*-Ray-*~**

"Die, you discoloured pigs!" cried Ray as he landed a final blow on one of the last Pigarithms.

When he first encountered the pig, he thought they were genetically mutated or something because it was large, green, three-headed and slower than how he thought a normal pig moved. He was surprised to see it shrink after he bounced off of it. He didn't notice that it also grew faster.

With another blow to the mutated head, it shrank to look and move like any other pig he had seen on TV. Beaming with premature confidence, he leapt for the pig one last time.

He fell on his face.

Then the pig hit him.

He became angry and started throwing his knives around haphazardly. Not much of a strategy, but it proved to work. The tiny pig disappeared and dropped a Volt Shroom. "Meh," he said as he pocketed it.

He started working on the other Pigarithm and started jumping on it with style. He had fun flipping in midair he had to admit. It was when he defeated the pig that he got bored again.

At the end of the room was a stack of large blocks that matched the green, electronic feel of the Zone. He puzzled what to do next.

"What would Phred say? Probably 'When in doubt, flip about! If that fails, use Tipps,' or something like that. I can't exactly do either…" He leaned his back against the block as he continued to think. "I don't wanna wait for them to catch up either." He let out an exaggerated groan, twirling around a banging his hands against the block wall. An echo resonated for a few seconds.

Then he got an idea. An awesome idea. Ray got a wonderful, awesome idea. There were little cracks and chinks in the blocks, he had noticed. Then why not rock-climb them? He had minimal experience climbing – the state fair's rock-climbing wall – and if he fell… he has a high pain tolerance, so he told himself he would get back up and try again.

Up the wall he went, slowly and surely and full of determination. When he reached the top, he stared down the hole where he climbed up and felt accomplished. He didn't bat an eye when he looked up and saw a door on the ceiling. He did, however, groan when he saw another Pigarithm across from him.

"You have got to be kidding." He got over it and decided to finish off the Pigarithm. He actually leveled up in the process! One additional hit point would certainly come in handy, he felt.

There was a problem with how he'd continue: the door was locked. If only he could break physics or pick the lock. But because I'm nice, I sent someone special to help him.

The door on the ceiling opened up behind him and he turned around. He nearly fainted.

"Ieda? ! You're alive?" Indeed, the chosen prophesier of whether good or evil would triumph strode confidently down the hallway on the ceiling. The Pigarithm on the ceiling stopped at the sight of her and ran away in the opposite direction; it was so afraid of her that it crashed through the wall just to get away!

Ray could only stare at the now gaping hole on the ceiling. He didn't think about it long; he turned around to Ieda.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were gone! And what's with that outfit? You never wear black. Are you okay?" He had other questions for her, but she ignored them and proceeded for the door above him.

When she fully stepped through the door, the other one burst open full force and broke the lock right off. She took a power stance, clenching a fist by her leg, and pointed at Ray.

"Intruder. Infidel! What is your purpose here? You better not be here for the Pure Heart Count Bleck wants me to guard." Ray could tell she looked angry for no good reason.

"What do ya mean? It's me, Ray!"

"Silence. You're coming with me to the Pure Heart where I'll determine your fate." She started dragging him against his own will as he started screaming in protest.

Through one door and out the other they went, all the way to the great unknown.

"No! Hey! Let me go! Help Rachel! Phred! _ANYBODY!_"

The exit door slammed shut behind them.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Did you hear something?" Tippi asked when the gang entered a room through a door in 3-D.

"No, why?" Rachel wondered.

"No reason… I thought I heard someone scream in the distance… I'm probably just remembering something again."

"We haven't got time for that right now. We gotta find out why this room was hidden in 3-D."

"What I wanna know is why there's a door on the ceiling." Rachel said, pointing ahead. Phred and Tippi looked and ogled at the sight.

"I suppose we will figure that out sooner or later, but for now let us concentrate on right-side-up…" The teens nodded and went forward on their quest. They came to steps that led down to a strange pig that Phred and Rachel felt uncomfortable near.

"If that thing is a normal pig here, then I don't think I'll ever have bacon again. Tippi: Analysis."

"This bizarre beast is called a Pigarithm. Everything about it is just…odd… Max HP is ?. Attack is 2. It takes three stomps to finish off this piggy… But each stomp makes it smaller and faster… It's very hard to stomp the last one… Pigarithms often drop many coins, so you may want to hunt them if you're broke…"

"Oh, so we use them like a trampoline!" Rachel wasted no time in testing out her theory, much to the disapproval of her companions.

"Weee!" she exclaimed as she jumped, "This is fun! C'mon Phred, join me!- oh, I defeated it."

"It's okay Rachel. Maybe the next one. We gotta find a way up to that ledge."

"Phred, why not have Rachel float across the gap?"

They floated and reached the next door with some sort of creature with a blue barrier.

"That's a Barribad. It can shield itself with a strong barrier… Max HP is 4 and Attack is 2. It also shoots rings of energy from its mough… You can't break it's barrier, but you can flip to get places it might not want you to…"

"Thanks Tipps. You're really helpful, ya know that?"

"Tee hee… I suppose I do have my moments."

With a flip and a single jump, Phred defeated the weakling. "Easy peasy." Going to one-up Phred, Rachel jumped over Phred over to a treasure chest to open it up. Inside was…

"A key? Just a key? !"

"Hold it Rach, it could be important."

Indeed it would be.

**~*-SPP-*~**

They entered a deserted room with a lingering, distinct air. Rachel gasped when she figured out where it came from.

"Ray's been here! And… so has Ieda? But that doesn't make sense."

"If we're going to uncover any answers, we will have to keep going Rachel…"

"Tippi's got the right idea." Phred led his friends over to some sort of stack of blocks. Something was wrong though.

He kept this information to himself, and flipped everyone. They discovered that the blocks were stairs that allowed progress up to a second story.

"So Rachel," said Tippi, "Phred says that he lost his memory too… Is that correct?"

"Oh, yes. You wouldn't believe the adventure we went through for that to happen, even if I told you!"

"Why do you ask, Tippi?"

"Oh… I'll tell you in a minute. First, let's explore what lies beyond this door…"

Yes, it was finally time to find out why the Whoa Zone was named so appropriately.

They exclaimed in unison, after passing through the door, "Whoa!"

"We're on the ceiling!"

"This certainly is a head rush."

"Gracious me… I certainly did not expect this…"

The rest of their trip would be like that, starting with the next room.

"Holy smokes, we're sideways!"

"Yes, and that's not all… we're among enemies. It looks like Ray didn't get far in his extermination…"

"That's a harsh word."

Tippi ignored Rachel and led everyone down (really up) to a pit with a door. Phred got a feeling that something lay farther.

"Rach, think you can get us over this hole?"

"Okay!" When they landed, Phred confirmed his hunch with the door that stood before him.

The next room had everyone puzzled. There were plenty of enemies to defeat, but the room lacked a door. With all the enemies gone and their puzzlers overheated, the trio decided it was time for a break.

"So, break time. Fun… This isn't awkward or anything."

"Rachel, you're making it awkward. Now Tippi, didn't you have a question about me?"

"Well, I was wondering how you got your childhood back together after you lost your memory… I mean…"

"He had me!" Rachel announced. "That and he had his grandparents and school to help out."

"I had loved ones and not-so loved ones to get me through."

"Not-so loved ones?" This really confused Tippi. If they were not so loved, they why would they even bother helping? Maybe she needed some clarification was all. "How so?"

"Oh, you know. Like a school bully or a reeeeally mean teacher."

"Are there such people in the world, discrediting Bleck and his cast of cronies?"

"Oh, sure," assured Phred. "Ask Rachel about hers."

"You'd never guess who it was. Kindergarten of '97; I remember it like it was yesterday. Miss Clearwater just called the class to nap-time and we were going to our cots. Eric Newman was the first to get to his – he was the class slacker for many years to come – and you won't believe what happened. His cot was so soaked in glue that Miss Clearwater had to cut him out of his shorts and Scooby-Doo undies because the glue soaked right through and kept him stuck there instantly."

"That's inhumane! What sort of foul monster would do such a thing?"

"Not yet, not yet. I haven't even gotten to the part where _I_ get involved! So like I was saying, the bully then snuck into my cubbie while Miss Clearwater busied herself with freeing Eric to steal my favourite teddy. He was a Pooh Bear, but I called him Teddy; my mom told me how Pooh's real name is Edward and I though since he was a teddy, I could take that 'T' and put it on his real name and—"

"Rachel."

"Oh, right! Sorry. Anyway, he stealthily grabbed my Teddy right out of my cubby and held him hostage for the rest of the year. I'm telling you, nap-time during that time was impossible. Thankfully, on the last day, I got a crayoned ransom note saying for me to meet him at the monkey bars in the big kid playground."

"This is the interesting part, Tipps, so if you have a question you should ask now."

"No…"

"He was sitting on top of the taller, squarer ones with his foot holding a string against one of the bars. I was mortified with what he had done. The string was tied around Teddy's neck like a makeshift noose." Rachel started welling up with tears after she reached that point in her story.

"It's okay, Rachel. It's all right."

She sniffled and stuffed, rubbing her eye on her wrist. Just a second more, and she couldn't resist. "WHY?"

"Phred, do you know the rest?" Tippi inquired.

"Sure do. He was up on the monkey bars waiting for Rachel to appear. On seeing her arrive, he asked her to climb up to him. I don't know if you know, but climbing on top of monkey bars is an incredible feat when you're a kindergartener, so two would have been school newsworthy. She managed to get up eventually. The real trouble started when the boy commanded Rachel to start reaching for Teddy from where she was without grabbing onto the string."

"You're kidding! Amazing how I can't figure out who would do such a thing…"

"Believe me, you won't be surprised."

He started to pace, trying to remember certain details most likely, and Rachel retired to the stairs in the room weeping with her head in between her knees. Tippi took this moment of silence to piece together who could do such a thing. She didn't care if it was someone she didn't know or if it was someone she did. But it couldn't be someone she knew – she only knew the residents of Flipside, Merlon, Count Bleck and his friends, and the Heroes.

The Heroes… no.

"Phred, it wasn't… Ray, was it?"

"I'm glad you caught on finally."

Rachel finally calmed herself down and rejoined her cohorts.

"And what's more is that he expected a peck on the cheek as ransom after he had me toy around with his sadistic game! He had done other stuff to me over the year, but this was by far the worst."

"Yeah, and this was before they knew they were related to each other, which means he had no flippin' excuse—"

Without realizing he said the magic word, Phred flipped into the 3rd dimension and found what they were puzzling over. He hurried back, excited with his find.

"Guys!" he cracked his voice. "Come with me; the door's underneath."

"I guess we're resuming our quest," sighed Tippi. "That break was actually refreshing for me…"

"Refreshing? It was torture. Just like this is going to be," finished Rachel upon seeing the tons of Tileoid-Ys.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Who knew that Space Food replenished 50 HP in the Whoa Zone?" Phred asked aloud as the group entered a room through another 3-D door.

"Not to mock you, but honestly we're in space and it is Space Food… And the Whoa Zone is in space, so… it is just common sense."

"Well, I'm sorry Tippi. But where were you to stop me from eating it?"

The group had a close run in with the Tileoid-Ys running amuck in the undergroud room. They kept coming for them without hesitation. To make matters worse, Rachel accidentally bumped her head on a gravity switch. Right when they figured out how to go about defeating them, they flew onto the ceiling and fell victim of attack again.

In the next room, they fell into a pit with an unexpected guest: A Pigarithm. The group fell into danger. Their options on replenishment were limited to say the least; they only had Shroom Shakes, a Long-Last Shake, the long forgotten Life Shroom, and the Space Food the gang argued about.

Rachel figured that since almost every single item only replenished 10 HP, she could have whatever she wanted. She was in for a nasty surprise and now here they were arguing.

While Tippi and Rachel argued again, Phred decided to go on ahead of the girls. Unfortunately, the ceiling was a dead end, but it did yield another key for them to use on the door below. He walked back over and found that they had already made up.

How did girls do that?

"Hey, where's Phred?" Rachel asked Tippi as he approached them. Tippi turned right round and

"Oh, there you are Phred." Noticed Tippi.

"I got a key so we can continue forward."

They were about to start backtracking, when suddenly…

"AHHH! NO, GET AWAY FROM ME! IEEEEDAAaaaaaaaa…" It went as suddenly as it came.

"Ray! He's in trouble. C'mon, we gotta move double-time!"

_**Double-Time A Few Rooms Back…**_

Back in the room where Phred had his hunch, he led his troop through the door he ignored before. It took them directly across the room and literally down to a door.

The next room shocked everyone.

"We were just here! I may return this game to Nintendo after we're done…"

"Hey!" chimed a resentful Tippi.

"We'll have time to talk later, but we gotta keep going."

They found a gravity switch in the next room and another further down in the room.

"Hey, Tipps. You know that suspicious looking, door-less gap?"

"Say no more… I'm on it."

Phred would have seen her smiling had she a visible mouth. She revealed a door.

It was an understatement to say that the next room was only big. It was colossal! Not to mention spacious… but certainly not empty. The only enemies in the room were strange green, bouncing squares called Hooligons by Tippi. They honestly were push-overs compared to the fast Tileoids.

On the far edge of the room, the gang found another gravity switch that pulled them to the wall they just abandoned.

"This is going to take a while…" muttered Phred.

They finally reached the door that Tippi didn't freak out over ("NOT THIS ONE! I sense something dangerous…") and entered next to a chest! …on the ceiling.

"Why didn't Squirps warn us about all this Physics breaking?"

"Yeah," agreed Tippi. "What next? Someone is going to be able to grab a laser beam?"

To the group's appreciation, however, there were no enemies in sight. Finally they could take a break from watching their backs.

Through one door they went and out another on the ground is where they came out. They were even happier when they saw the three question mark blocks.

"Sweet salvation!" Rachel couldn't have smiled any more as she claimed the Super Shroom in the first.

"I've been waiting all level for this." Phred breathed heavily as he struck the third one, also getting a Super Shroom.

"Oh, what the hay?" Tippi passively sighed, hitting the middle. However, it wasn't a happy Shroom that popped out. A Zombie Shroom came to life and fled from the Heroes.

"After it!" Rachel randomly charged at it, but she jumped a little too late. The Shroom ricocheted off the wall and zoomed in the other direction.

This went on for a few minutes. Meanwhile, Phred took Tippi through yet _another_ door that led to the ceiling where the chest was.

"Excellent… now we may pass through that door without trouble…"

"Then c'mon and help me wrangle up Rach."

**~*-SPP-*~**

"Thanks for coming when you did. Otherwise, I would have probably been chasing that thing for forever."

"Don't mention it…"

"Ever," finished Phred as he struck the gravity switch.

Tippi suggested that they save their progress before continuing on. Finally, they entered the door and were greeted with a nasty put-down.

"SLOWPOKES!" yelled everyone's favourite Martian. Everyone crowded around Squirps as he continued talking in insults.

"_SQUAAAAAAAACKLES!_ Squirps was tired of waiting! Squirps almost gave up! The Pure Heart that you're looking fore is just up ahead, space grunts!"

They were getting ready to follow the little boy before someone cried out, "Squirps, you idiot! You led them right to her trap!"

Ray got his voice across, but where the heck was he?

"Ray, was that you? Where are you?" Rachel asked in a panic.

"Don't bother looking. I'm invisible thanks to—"

"That'll do, my fine hunk of man," interrupted a new voice. Only the Heroes could easily identify who it belonged to, but where was _it_ coming from?

She presented herself in due time; she gracefully fell from the ceiling and softened her landing by jumping off of Squirps. He looked dazed and discombobulated, but showed no signs of terminal drain bramage- er, brain damage.

"Squirp…" he moaned.

Ieda seemed like she didn't care, for she chuckled to herself.

"Wh-Who are you?" Even though Tippi already knew from the Heroes, she wanted to make sure.

"That's Ieda, Ray's girlfriend. She's also my best friend. Max HP is 40 and Attack is 3. She wasn't evil before a run-in with Nastasia. Now she does the Count's bidding. She has a high jump attack that's hard to avoid and she has an unlimited supply of Shroom Shakes. If she seems like she's cheating, cheat back with Barry!"

All: …

"What?" asked Rachel, taken aback at everyone's silence.

"You've got it all wrong girlie. I'm the Blue Typhoon," she paused a moment to break physics: she performed an impossible spin and summoned blue rays of light from her back, "MADEMOISELLE I!"

"'Mademoiselle'? Why not just plain 'Miss'?" Phred asked her.

Ieda stepped closer to Phred and got rid of Squirps in the process.

"Question me if you must, but deep down you know that it's a cool name. I know it. And don't even bother trying to memorize it." She chuckled to herself again.

"How come?"

"Why do you think, Rachel? !" answered Ray from wherever he was. "She's about to give you a burial at space!"

"Quiet you." Ieda snarled. "That's _sea!_ …er, no wait. You're right."

"I know," sighed he.

"Enough of this! We fight now, so _have at you!_"

She started off with a simple jump that Barry deflected before Phred could even think. The move cost Ieda 3 HP and she was stunned momentarily. This gave Rachel the perfect window to make her move and jump her best friend.

"Argh! Thank God you're wearing flats or else that would've really hurt."

"I'm sorry."

The fight went on like this for some time. Ieda would take damage and the Heroes would occasionally take some. Ieda dipped into her supply of Shroom Shakes while the Heroes saved theirs just in case.

"Ugh, this is taking forever." Groaned Rachel. She grew tired of the cycle that they fell in.

It's lucky that the next hit did the Mademoiselle in. She fell to the floor briefly.

Finding the strength to get back up, she grunted. "Impressive. I guess there's but one thing to now though… Come to me, metal sister!"

With no warning, Phred and Rachel were knocked back as a hulking, blue robot head flew in through the wall. It resembled Ieda near-perfectly.

"Do you like her?" Ieda asked as the robot floated down in front of her. "This is my DEAR metal sis. She and I share a spiritual bond, ya know. I call her… **SISTRON**!"

"I thought we had a special bond… a bond of friendship." Phred saw Rachel start to quiver. He gently took her in his embrace to comfort her.

"Me friends with the enemy? Are you out of your pretty mind? Such ideas are _scandalous_!"

"But it's true, Mademoiselle. Deep down in that repressed, smart mind of yours you know it."

"Shut up!" screamed the villainess. "Just shut up already! My ears can't take your talk of good and-and **niceness**! Such vile words are things I can't take!"

"What're you gonna do? Jump us?" sniffled Rachel.

"I was just getting to that. I challenge you to a duel in space, girlie!" For effect, she dramatically pointed at Rachel. Rachel jumped at the challenge and gasped, her hand flew automatically to her mouth.

"Me?"

"Her?" Phred turned his head down to Rachel's

"My sis?" gasped Ray.

"Rachel…" Tippi took that rather well, actually.

Mademoiselle I grew impatient as they all asked her the same question. "YES, her."

She immediately leapt into her robot. The Heroes could see her settling herself down in a cockpit somewhere in the robot's mechanical hair thanks to a windshield installed there. The expression on Ieda's face said that she meant business.

"Enough playing, already… NOW FOR PAIN!"

**~*-SPP-*~**

Sistron broke physics (the third time this chapter) and started to blast action-like jazz to fit the duel mood. Rachel found that the helmet automatically put itself on her shoulders. She also found Squirps wandering about, so she managed to grab hold of him.

Ieda sat back in her comfy, spinny chair. "The gravitational laws of space allow Sistron's potential to be fully realized!" she started droaning. "Now Ms. Thinkswearefriends, HAVE AT YOOOOOOOU!"

Without a word, Rachel fired the first shot. Direct hit!... but it certainly wasn't a one-hit KO.

Ieda laughed at the futile shot. "Barely worth a scratch." She released a missile. Not a heat-seeking one, but big enough to look like it would do a heavy amount of damage.

Still Rachel said not a word. She had Squirps lead her under the missile, avoiding potential damage.

Ieda gritted her teeth and started to fire lasers of her own.

Candy bars started to float past Sistron and into the arena. Rachel floated to the first yellow one and gained a speed boost. This helped her maneuver away from Ieda's laser fires.

Ieda pulled a lever on her left that caused Sistron's mouth to open wide. Rachel thought about what would happen, but she realized what Ieda was planning when the mouth started sucking her in.

Rachel's speed boost helped her escape in time. Then a red candy bar floated on the scene, giving Rachel a power boost.

Rachel kept firing away at her lost, misguided friend; she hated every hit but accepted it for the sake of saving her friend.

"Hmmm. Your power has grown, but not by much girlie!" She fired a barrage of smaller missiles. These _were_ heat seeking!

Thank goodness that Rachel caught a green candy bar and a blue candy bar, giving her some missiles of her own and a barrier respectively.

"Why are you getting stronger? !" Ieda started to get really annoyed. She pulled the lever to her right.

A warning siren started sounding and Rachel panicked herself into the lower corner. All of a sudden, Sistron's eyes shot lasers in a straight line. The robot lowered itself inch by inch until the laser nearly grazed Rachel's helmet antenna.

Rachel sighed in relief. She resumed her barrage of fire the second Mademoiselle I let up.

Rachel missed a purple candy bar, so when a yellow one floated by again she assumed that the cycle restarted. She also noticed that Ieda's cycle restarted as well; the Mademoiselle fired another large missile.

Rachel finally took a hit when Sistron started firing her lasers again. Rachel caught a hint of a smile on Ieda's face. Anything to make her smile in her deranged state was worth it.

Finally, right when Ieda started charging her laser eyes again, Rachel fired the last shot.

"I'M SORRY." She hoped that Mademoiselle I would hear the apology through her helmet.

Sistron started to explode in space, meaning that Ieda's oxygen would start depleting and everything would repeat the events of the Apollo 13 mission.

"Hey… this makes no sense!" yelled the corrupt girl in the robot.

With one final explosion, they blew back all the way to the Whoa Zone.

**~*-SPP-*~**

Phred stood around glumly, waiting for something to happen- a sign to appear that Rachel was all right and that Ieda was saved.

Rachel and Ieda fell from the sky; Rachel fell into Phred's arms while Ieda landed on the floor chest-first.

"Rachel, you're all right!" cheered Phred, giving her an Eskimo kiss.

"Welcome back, Rachel… I believed you would do it…"

"Rachel? Oh, thank GOD you're back!" Ray heavily sighed, truly thankful.

"Thank you everyone. I didn't want to do it, but if it was for the good of the world and saving Ieda, then…"

Ieda regained consciousness and started groaning in pain. "Ough, my head… H-How could you beat Sistron?" She got herself to her feet, wobbling a little bit as she got up.

"Ugh… I'll let you off the hook for the rest of today, I suppose. But remember this: When Fortune smiles next, she'll smile right here. On Mlle. I!" She limped away.

Squirps squirped off-screen and made his way toward the Heroes.

"Ugh… that was awful, squirp. We gotta pull ourselves together, space grunts… The Pure Heart is ahead!"

"Well what're we waiting for?"

"One last thing, grunts: I saw a cage in the next room with the tall, sad one. Squinkle!"

Rachel bolted for the door.

**~*-SPP-*~**

"RAY! OHMYGOD YOU'RE ALIGHT!"

"Rachel, I'm in a cage. I'm _not_ fine."

In front of a golden statue, Ray sat crisscross applesauce in a cage. On it was a large lock that looked like the ones on the locked doors the Heroes found throughout their adventure.

"Tippi, will the key we have work on this lock?"

"It's worth a try… I suppose so…"

Rachel produced the key and inserted it in the lock and Phred twisted in to activate the tumblers. With a creaky swing, the cage door flew open and Ray stepped out. The first thing he did was crack his back.

"Ewww…" said a disgusted Tippi.

"Well excuse me for not being fun-sized and able to fit in there without cramping up!"

"At least you're still normal." Phred seemed pretty relieved with that. The cage disappeared.

Squirps finally appeared behind the Heroes. "Say hi so Squirps' mommy, squirp!" was what he said.

Apparently he was talking about the golden statue in the back of the room. No one really paid attention to it until now. A queen stood tall with a scepter tilted to the right in both of her tentacles. The air around her reeked of regality.

"Your… mother?" Phred finally asked in interest.

"Yeah, this is Squirps' mommy! The queen of Squirpia! Her name is Squirpina XIV!"

"XIV… I've heard that somewhere before…" Ray mused to himself. He quickly forgot, for Tippi pieced Squirps' family tree out loud.

"The queen is…your mother? So you are…"

"That's right! Squirps is the prince of Squirpia, a once-great kingdom… And my real name is—"

"NO! That's fine, we don't need your full name." Blurted out an already confused Rachel.

"Oh… Well, sorry for not telling you about all this—"

"You should be." Tippi remarked.

"But Squirps promised not to tell! It makes Squirps a target!"

"Target? I'm sure there's a story for this." Ray said.

"Yep, squack! Long ago, Squirps' mother was told that destruction would come to the world." Whispers of 'Void' could be heard on and off screen. "And in order to protect us from this destruction, we need the Pure Heart. So mommy hid the Pure Heart in the Whoa Zone, where no one could get at it."

"Smart woman," admired Rachel.

"And so, 1,500 years ago, Squirps was put to sleep in a hibernation capsule, squeep!"

"That must be the space craft we found a while back…" Tippi thought.

"Squirps was meant to bring the Hero here… to protect the world, squirple! By the way, the prince of Squirpia, Squirps, has a message from the queen to deliver: I bestow upon you the Pure Heart in the hope that you will save the world."

"Wow… can't get more official than that." Squirps then pulled out the fifth Pure Heart; it was a shade of light blue, almost the same as the streaks in Rachel's hair.

The Pixls performed the funny dance again and the Pure Heart was officially theirs for saving the worlds.

**~*-SPP-*~**

**YOU GOT A PURE HEART!**

**~*-SPP-*~**

"_**Phew**_**… Now that Squirps is  
all relaxed, Squirps feels  
kinda… tired…" said Squirps.**

**And with that, Squirps lay  
down before the statue of  
his beloved mother.**

"**Mother…" he said, his voice  
soft. "I did my best, right?  
Are you…proud…of me?"**

**The…slowly…young Squirps  
closed his eyes…**

"**He's not dead, is he?"  
Rachel asked Phred, who  
moved in closer to see if he was.**

"**No. He's just asleep." Said  
the first of the Heroes.**

**The mission had weighed  
heavy on his tiny back, and  
he was proud to fulfill it.**

**

* * *

**

**Wow, look how late I am... I hope this 16 page rewrite of chapter 26 makes up for my tardiness. This thus concludes the SPP series! I had so much fun with it and I hope you guys did too. Now I can get cracking on BoA and BtGO!**

**By the way, Santa and I haven't been able to talk again. I guess this is how he admits defeat. Now I'm a shoe in for a purple 3DS! Ah ha ha~**


End file.
